Fireworks banned in South this July Fourth

Drought dooms fireworks sales in Southern states this July Fourth

Pets in the South will have a stress free July Fourth weekend if they are so lucky as to be in a region where fireworks are banned.  Due to the extreme drought that holds the region in its iron grip the risk of fire due to fireworks is too high to entertain the annual celebration.  Unfortunately, there will be rednecks and cowboys who won’t be able to resist beer and bombs despite local laws but that is always the case when ignorance rules and believe me there are a lot of unwashed and uneducated in the Deep South.

Here’s more from The Wall Street Journal:

This July Fourth holiday could be dimmer than usual across the South after officials imposed bans on the sale and use of fireworks amid persistent drought and some of the worst wildfires in recorded history.

Officials from Florida to Arizona have prohibited the use of fireworks to reduce the risk of more wildfires. They are also asking counties and residents where bans aren’t in place to give up holiday displays.

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez on Wednesday ordered state police officers to help enforce bans and restrictions put in place across parts of the state. “The conditions in New Mexico are simply too dangerous for anyone to buy, sell or use fireworks this summer,” she said in a statement.

The Texas Department of Public Safety on Tuesday pleaded with counties, cities and citizens to forgo fireworks. So far, 179 of Texas’s 254 counties have banned fireworks, according to Gov. Rick Perry’s office.

“It’s just too dry, and our firefighting resources are stretched too thin to be able to cope with potentially massive outbreaks of fires caused by fireworks,” said Steven McCraw, the public safety department’s director.

More fires are reported on July 4 than on any other day in a typical year, and fireworks account for more than half the fires, according to the National Fire Protection Association. Fireworks caused an estimated 18,000 fires during 2009, the most recent year reported, leading to 30 civilian injuries and $38 million in property damage, the association said.

There is one glimmer of hope for smaller fireworks sellers, said Julie Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association. Fireworks are also popular in the South for New Year’s Eve. “What we’re hoping is that the South can make up the loss during that second opportunity,” she said.

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