Key facts
- Utah Governor Spencer Cox declared a state of emergency due to wildfires.
- A temporary ban on personal fireworks is in effect until July 5.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox declared a state of emergency, temporarily banning personal fireworks until July 5 due to an unprecedented wildfire season. The order allows the state forester to prohibit fireworks statewide, overriding a recent law that limited such bans.
The governor's emergency declaration and fireworks ban aim to mitigate the risk of new ignitions during a severe wildfire season, protecting lives, property, and natural resources in Utah.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox has declared a state of emergency and implemented a temporary statewide ban on personal fireworks until July 5, in response to an unprecedented wildfire season. The executive order grants the state forester the authority to prohibit fireworks across Utah, overriding a recent law that had limited such statewide bans. Cox stated that local fire chiefs can still permit fireworks in specific areas if conditions permit, aiming to strike a balance between state-wide safety and local decision-making.
As of Friday, Utah was contending with nine active wildfires that had consumed over 143,000 acres. Human activity has been identified as the cause for the majority of the state's 373 wildfires this year. Among the most severe blazes is the Cottonwood fire, which has burned nearly 72,000 acres with zero containment and is considered the state's most destructive fire in history, forcing the closure of Eagle Point ski resort and damaging structures.
The announcement coincided with Salt Lake City's national weather service issuing its first-ever "red flag warning" for a "particularly dangerous situation." The ongoing fires are generating significant smoke, impacting air quality in popular tourist destinations like Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks. Further fire danger is anticipated as a heat wave is expected to blanket the Western United States.