Utah governor declares state of emergency banning fireworks for Fourth of July

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Utah Gov. Cox issued a state of emergency banning fireworks for the Fourth of July after a historically dry winter created unprecedented wildfire danger statewide.

The order declares that fireworks are banned statewide, with the caveat that local governments can open areas where fireworks can be launched safely.

“Nothing about this decision was easy,” Gov. Cox said. “Utahns love celebrating the Fourth of July with family, friends and fireworks. I do too. But this year is different. We are seeing fire behavior that even our most experienced firefighters say they’ve never witnessed before.”

The temporary ban comes as firefighters work to contain five large wildfires, including the Iron Fire near Eureka and the Cottonwood Fire, which surpassed 70,000 acres on Thursday.

The Iron Fire and Cottonwood Fire are currently the largest fires in the nation.

The fires have devastated the state, forcing evacuations and destroying numerous buildings and homes. While the exact causes of each fire have not been released, fire officials have determined they were human-caused. Gov. Cox said the Iron Fire, which forced evacuations in Eureka and burned over 37,000 acres, is believed to have been ignited by illegal fireworks.

MORE | Utah Wildfires

The governor’s call comes as Utah continues to deal with extremely dry conditions and strong winds, made worse by record-worst winter snowpack. The executive order states that this year’s wildfire conditions are “extremely hazardous,” with 94% of Utah in severe or extreme drought.

Fire dangers only continue to rise with dry thunderstorms moving into the Beehive State, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a near-statewide Red Flag Warning set to go into effect Friday afternoon.

Officials said new and existing fires could spread rapidly as strong winds with gusts as high as 50 miles per hour move into Utah.

This comes with a severe thunderstorm risk for central and northern Utah that could bring the possibility for dry lightning.

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