Utah Governor Spencer Cox (R) issued a temporary restriction on fireworks for the entire state. The ban comes as the state faces extreme wildfire conditions.
According to the order, “This year’s extremely hazardous conditions present an unusually high risk of devastating fire resulting from the discharge of fireworks.” It adds that the “discharge of fireworks anywhere in our state, including within municipal boundaries, creates a significant and material risk of a fire disaster.”
“To mitigate this risk, I order the suspension of the enforcement of Utah Code § 65A-8-212(5), which subsection when enforced prevents the state forester from prohibiting the discharge of fireworks within municipal boundaries,” the order declares. “This suspension allows the state forester, under the provisions of Utah Code § 65A-8-212, to prohibit the discharge of fireworks within municipal boundaries when the conditions are extremely hazardous.”
“There are some legislators who disagree. I understand that. I know they don’t want any restrictions anywhere,” Cox said during a press conference. “I totally get that. I wouldn’t do this if it weren’t the worst possible situation we’ve seen.”
Some cities have already banned fireworks ahead of Fourth of July. “It’s a little creative, I think. It was a way for us to really come up with some legislative backing to allow us to do that. We just really believe that fire is a huge issue,” Moab Mayor Joette Langianese told FOX 13 News. “We’ve had two fires that burned structures in town because of fireworks. We’ve had three fires up on our mountain in the last several years. So because of the danger, we just felt we had to come up with something in the emergency declaration allowed us to do that.”
