SALT LAKE CITY — Governor Spencer Cox issued an emergency order Thursday that effectively bans personal fireworks through July 5 as the state grapples with extreme wildfire danger.
"This is unprecedented," Gov. Cox said of wildfire danger. "It means we have to take some unprecedented measures."
The governor's executive order declared a state of emergency for wildfires and suspended a state law that prohibited cities from enacting fireworks bans. With that, the Utah State Forester instituted a statewide fireworks ban through July 5. The order allows cities to designate special areas, should they choose, where people can set off fireworks.
FOX 13 News first reported earlier Thursday that Gov. Cox was meeting with legal counsel and considering an executive order on fireworks because of wildfires.
Gov. Cox explains why fireworks ban is so important to safety of Utah:
Under Utah law, the governor cannot enact an all-out ban. Cities are also blocked from enacting total bans on igniting personal fireworks, except for communities that are entirely in a wildland urban interface — meaning they are at the highest risk of fire danger.
Gov. Cox acknowledged some on Utah's Capitol Hill were not happy with his decision to suspend the law using emergency powers.
"There are some legislators who disagree. I understand that. I know they don’t want any restrictions anywhere," he said. "I totally get that. I wouldn’t do this if it weren’t the worst possible situation we’ve seen."
Conditions have been so bad, firefighters are being sent all over the state to help stop massive wildfires. Gov. Cox said Gunnison's volunteer fire department rushed to Eureka to help out, temporarily leaving their own community unprotected if there was a fire there.
It's one of the motivating factors for the governor.
"If on July 3rd, 4th or 5th we have multiple starts in this valley? We are screwed," he said. "That’s it. Nobody to respond. So this is what I'm talking about. This is not big government. This is life or death stuff."
Before the state of emergency, some communities had gotten creative by designating a single area as a place where people could set off personal fireworks, while others expanded their restricted zones.
"I think that there should be flexibility in the law that when there's extreme conditions like this, we ought to be able to say this is an emergency, yeah, we need to do this now," Draper Mayor Troy Walker said Thursday.
Walker said some lawmakers he has spoken with are sympathetic and willing to address it, but others have told him "freedoms are being restricted."
Earlier this week, Moab issued an emergency declaration to ban fireworks within the entire city limits.
"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 on Thursday. "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."
Gov. Cox's order now gives communities like Moab political and legal cover. The mayors of Draper and Herriman told FOX 13 News they were likely to enact all-out bans with no spaces for fireworks.
"We’ve lost homes in Herriman," Mayor Lorin Palmer said. "We’ve got to protect our homes, we’ve got to protect neighborhoods. Whatever I can do to protect homes, this is the right thing to do."
Sandy Mayor Monica Zoltanski pleaded with people not to set off fireworks anyway.
"We need everyone to pull together this year and keep our communities safe," she said.
Bountiful Mayor Kate Bradshaw urged people to celebrate the holiday in other ways.
"This is a great year to celebrate in other ways," she said. "Just forego fireworks entirely."
During the current fire season, Utah has recorded 353 wildfires that have burned a total of 141,000 acres. One of the largest fires, the Iron Fire in Juab County, which is still burning at over 30,000 acres, was likely caused by illegal fireworks, according to Utah State Forester Jamie Barnes. The Cottonwood Fire in Beaver County was also human-caused and is now considered to be one of the most destructive fires in state history.
"We’re pushing 80% of human-caused wildfires. I need people to understand how dry it is out there. Things that normally wouldn’t spark a wildfire will spark a fire this year," Barnes told FOX 13 News.
In addition to the state of emergency, Utah will move to Stage 2 fire restrictions at midnight Saturday, meaning no open fires will be allowed until further notice.
Cox says 'no end in sight' as Cottonwood Fire rages in central Utah:
