Utah governor orders ban on fireworks as wildfires rage across state

Utah governor Spencer Cox has announced a state of emergency and accompanying temporary prohibition on the use of personal fireworks until 5 July. The announcement comes as the state experiences an unprecedented wildfire season with blazes that have prompted evacuations in Eureka, a small town about 80 miles south of Salt Lake City. Under the governor’s executive order, the state forester is allowed to ban the use of fireworks anywhere in the state. The order temporarily suspends a 2024 law that disallowed the forester from banning fireworks in cities across the state. “It’s not about taking decisions away from local communities. In fact, we want to put local knowledge at the center of this process,” Cox said during a Thursday press conference. The Iron fire burns outside near Eureka, Utah, at the weekend. Photograph: Kelly Wickens/Utah forestry fire state lands/AP He added that while the state’s default position is that fireworks are prohibited, local fire chiefs and officials can still designate places where fireworks are allowed, if the hot, dry and windy conditions that are fueling the fires allow for it. “We think this strikes the right balance,” Cox said. As of Friday, Utah had nine active wildfires burning across more than 143,000 acres, according to the state’s wildfire dashboard . So far this year, Utah has had 373 wildfires . All but 100 of them have been caused by humans. …