Deadly wildfires raging across western states have prompted fire officials to ask patriotic Americans to pause before lighting fireworks this year.
This Independence Day will see record-setting fireworks displays for America’s 250th anniversary celebration, according to industry experts, but hot, dry conditions across states including California, Colorado and Utah have firefighters on edge.
An unusually dry and hot winter has created dangerously flammable conditions in forests and grasslands across the West.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox on June 25 issued a rare statewide executive order allowing communities to restrict consumer fireworks, although commercial displays are still permitted.
“Nothing about this decision was easy,” Cox said in announcing the order. “Utahns love celebrating the Fourth of July with family, friends and fireworks. I do, too. But this year is different. We are seeing fire behavior that even our most experienced firefighters say they’ve never witnessed before.”
Three wildland firefighters died June 27 battling a blaze on the Colorado-Utah border. Across the West, dozens of wildfires are burning or are just now being brought under control, many of them sparked by lightning. Officials said activities connected to people ‒ from fireworks to carelessly discarded cigarettes ‒ have sparked 75% of wildfires in Utah in 2026.
Fireworks spark tens of thousands of wildfires across the United States each year, causing deaths, injuries and millions of dollars in property damage.
Some cities in Colorado, including the mountain resort of Vail, have already cancelled their professional Independence Day fireworks displays. In Aspen, fireworks are being replaced by a drone show. Colorado already restricts most consumer fireworks to sparklers and popper-style firecrackers that stay on the ground. Other states implemented restrictions earlier in the year, including New Mexico, which banned many consumer fireworks in April.
In California, state Fire Marshal Dan Berlant said Cal Fire inspectors have been monitoring fireworks purchases across the state. Unlike most other states, California has its own inspection-and-approval system for fireworks, and confiscates those failing standards. Berlant urged fireworks users to be mindful of their decisions to set off any fireworks, legal or not.
