Fire danger means no fireworks this July 4th

WASILLA — Following a meeting Wednesday between the Mat-Su Borough, city of Wasilla, the Division of Forestry, Houston Fire Chief Tom Hood and Gorilla Fireworks stand owner Robert Hall, a determination has been made to keep the fireworks stands in Houston shuttered.

Although Houston allows the seasonal use and sale of fireworks, Mayor Virgie Thompson said the stands there will remain closed until further notice. Discharging fireworks for personal use on private land is banned in Houston until fire conditions change, she said.

“We were getting a lot of pressure to have a decision made,” Thompson said. “We pretty much had made up our mind anyway.”

She said the tax dollars the fireworks stands generate are important for the city, but fire danger doesn’t just impact Houston.

“When you stop and think about it, the city of Houston is the only one in the Mat-Su Borough that allows fireworks,” Thompson said. “It’s not just about the money. We care. We care about what’s happened to our surround communities.”

Chaos reigned for part of the day Tuesday after various local governments announced some burning — including fireworks — would be allowed during the Fourth of July holiday weekend. The change from the Fire Marshal’s Office followed a statewide burn ban, which prohibit most open burning during June’s dry weather that also saw the ignition of the Sockeye fire and several others.

Now, in advance of the holiday weekend, a patchwork of burn ban rules dot the state. In the Mat-Su, though, the burn ban remains in place, according to spokeswoman Patty Sullivan.

“We (borough officials) discussed it,” she said. “We are holding the borough’s ban on public land in place.”

The ban prohibits campfires, bonfires, and trash fires on borough land, including all borough parks and the Jim Creek parking lot, Sullivan said. Charcoal and propane grills are allowed on borough land, Sullivan added.

Fireworks remain illegal in the Mat-Su Borough. Borough code enforcement officers would be patrolling over the weekend to check on the fireworks, Sullivan said.

Fireworks, including the city’s planned display, are banned, according to Wasilla Mayor Bert Cottle.

“I’m looking at black clouds now, but I think they’re passing us by,” he said.

Officials were looking into the possibility of a fireworks display later in the year, Cottle said.

“The money we set aside for the fireworks is still there,” he said. “We could have fireworks on Labor Day, Veterans Day, or Halloween. We can use it for another event and just add in fireworks.”

Personal use of fireworks always is prohibited in Palmer according to city manager Joe Hannan. Though the city does include a fireworks display during Colony Christmas, but the winter is usually damp enough not to be concerning, he said.

Thompson said it’s too soon to say whether the fireworks planned as part of the city’s Aug. 15 Founders Day Celebration will go forward as planned.

“There’s a lot of time between now and the fifteenth of August,” she said. “It depends on how drastic the weather changes, and if we haven’t had any fires between now and then.”

Investigators have said fireworks are among potential causes being investigated for the Sockeye fire.

Burn ban conditions remained fluid in the state Wednesday. The DNR allowed campfires in metal grate fire pits only for the Big Lake North and Big Lake South, Rocky Lake, Nancy Lake and Willow Creek recreation areas, as well as Denali State Park. Campfire restrictions remained in effect for the Little Susitna Public Use Facility, backcountry camping at the Nancy Lake area, and on gravel bars in Denali State Park. Officials made the decision based on a small amount of rainfall over the last 24 hours, according to a DNR press release.

Campers should consult campground owners, hosts, or regulating agencies before starting a fire over the Fourth of July weekend.

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.