Wasatch County residents got the memo about Gov. Spencer Cox’s July 2-5 statewide ban on fireworks use, which he enacted on June 25 to prevent potential wildfires, which have spread especially rapidly this year thanks to dry vegetation and drought.
Wasatch Fire District Assistant Chief Clint Neerings said that the Fire District staffed up more than usual during the Fourth of July weekend in preparation for the holiday. Battalion Chiefs reported one bonfire, which was extinguished upon request, and no fireworks incidents.
“There are very few years that we do not have any fireworks incidents over the July 4 holiday, this year being one of the few exceptions, thankfully,” Neerings said. “The community was very respectful and compliant with the restrictions that were in place.”
Local law enforcement was responsible to enforce the ban, violation of which was punishable by an infraction and a fine of up to $1,000.
Both the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office and the Heber City Police Department reported only a handful of calls regarding fireworks.
“While the Sheriff’s Office did receive some fireworks calls and some open flame calls, the individuals were educated and cooperative, and no fires were reported or observed,” said Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Leo Lucey.
Police Chief Parker Sever said the Police Department had only had one call about fireworks but that the individuals in question were using a non-flammable type of bang snaps.
Sever had been skeptical that Heber City residents would follow the ban after observing so much non-compliance to fireworks bans at his previous jurisdiction in Hanford, California.
“(I thought) it was going to look like World War III out there, and this was the exact opposite of that,” he said. “I’ve never seen this before on the Fourth of July.”
Before the holiday, the Heber City briefly considered allowing some personal fireworks use at specified locations and times, which would have been allowed per Cox’s executive order. Mayor Heidi Franco ultimately decided against doing so.
Midway City also canceled its annual professional fireworks display on Memorial Hill. Memorial Hill is a local landmark that includes a memorial listing the names of local veterans.
“I’ve got more grief on this than anything I have in the years I’ve been involved with Midway City government, except for the beer garden at Swiss Days,” said Mayor Craig Simons during a County Council meeting last Wednesday.
County Councilor Michael Murphy, who is a Marine Corps veteran, chimed in that he disagreed with the decision.
“I think it’s a bit of an overreaction. I know you’re under a lot of pressure to do something, but I think this is a case of doing something and not being willing to push back. … I think we could have mitigated that enough by having fire crews standing by,” he said.
He added that the risk would have been worth it to commemorate the founding of the nation.
“Knowing that history, it literally brings tears to my eyes because it reminds me of the sacrifices of those who gave everything,” he said.
Simons rebutted that the first two phone calls he received about Cox’s fireworks ban were from veterans who said, “Do not burn my hill down.”
County Councilor Colleen Bonner added that Memorial Hill had caught fire during the fireworks show every single year she’s lived in Midway — over four decades — and that a lot of neighborhoods in the city are surrounded by open fields that are especially flammable.
County Councilor Erik Rowland also put in his two cents.
“I do think that this is one of those areas of our society where we begin to lose, as in most cases, our freedoms under the guise of safety and security. I fear that once we cross the line to ban them, it’s going to be significantly more difficult to allow them,” he said. “I think what (fireworks) represent is the freedom of what our country represents.”
Discharging fireworks is illegal in Utah except for on special occasions. Fireworks are usually permitted July 22-25 in celebration of Pioneer Day. Cox has not yet made an announcement about whether fireworks will also be banned at that time.