July 4 fireworks banned for fear of wildfires

AP: From Arizona to Florida, there will be fewer oohs and aahs at the rockets' red glare this Fourth of July: Many cities and counties across the nation's drought-stricken southern tier are banning fireworks because of the risk of wildfires.

New Mexico's governor prohibited fireworks on state and private wildlands and pleaded with people not to buy or set off pyrotechnics. Authorities in the lone Georgia county that banned sales shut down roadside vendors and made sure fireworks were off store shelves. Dozens of Texas cities have canceled shows, from large events in Austin and San Antonio to small-town celebrations where folks usually sit on blankets at parks and lakes.

"People are, of course, disappointed, but they know what could happen if the fireworks show did go on," said Sherri Davis, a city clerk in Saint Jo, a 1,000-resident farming community about 70 miles north of Fort Worth.

Parts of nearly a dozen states, from the Southeast to the West, are in a severe drought. And wildfires have charred thousands of square miles in recent months.

Some parts of the affected region already ban the sale or use of fireworks — or at least the types that explode or scatter fireballs, such as bottle rockets and Roman candles. This Independence Day, more expansive restrictions are in place, with many areas outlawing even sparklers....

Shot of fireworks by DustyDingo, Wikimedia Commons, under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or any later version