Officials urge caution ahead of Fourth of July weekend

WASILLA — State and local officials urged everyone to think carefully before lighting any fuses this weekend, ahead of the Fourth of July holiday.

In the Mat-Su borough, fireworks are illegal everywhere but the city of Houston, where they are allowed on private lands with permission. In event that the State Division of Forestry issued a burn ban, fireworks would also be suspended there

Burning conditions were listed as fair ahead of the weekend.

The borough recently commemorated the 20th anniversary of the Miller’s Reach fire, and court cases from the 2015 Sockeye wild fire remain unresolved, but appear headed for trial, officials have said.

State officials issued a press release pointing out that Independence Day increases the risk of wildfires. And while weather conditions may have been wet recently, conditions can change rapidly.

“While many of the areas of the state have received wide-spread precipitation in recent days, some areas in Alaska remain extremely dry,” the release reads in part. “In addition, fuels dry out very quickly and it only takes one or two days of hot, dry weather to prime fuels.”