COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah — With Pioneer Day weekend just around the corner, officials are urging Utahns to know the restrictions before lighting off fireworks.
“Cottonwood heights works really closely with united fire authority, our fire partner in determining, going through a prevention method to determine what we both think would be safe areas to have fireworks set off and then, and then on the opposite end, where we think it’s too dangerous and they can’t be set off,” said Mayor Mike Weichers.
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According to the latest map from the city, the eastern bench of Cottonwood Heights is in a restricted area, along with other pockets across the city. The mayor estimates about a third of the city to be in the restricted area, meaning residents are not allowed to light fireworks there.
“Restricted areas are there for a good reason,” said Unified Fire Authority’s Public Information Officer, Ryan Love. “The last thing we want is for a field to catch on fire or for a restricted area to catch on fire because it puts people, life [and] property at risk.”
Weichers says after the Fourth of July, the city expanded its restrictions because residents asked for more areas to be added to the list.
When the city council and UFA did an assessment of those areas, it was decided it was safer to broaden restrictions.
Gov. Spencer Cox joins FOX 13 News below to discuss staying safe with fireworks
“We had residents complain and say, 'Hey, we feel like this area that’s not disqualified is a danger,' and so we listened to them,” said Weichers.
Love encourages people to keep their homes safe this weekend with just one simple step.
“The best thing that we can do is protect our homes by clearing out our homes from dead fuel,” he said.
You can find a map with fire restrictions across the state here. Unified Fire Authority also has an interactive map of firework-restricted areas within Salt Lake County here.
