Look out for fireworks booths popping up this weekend in Aurora because, starting Saturday, the city-wide ban on the colorful explosives will lift.
Aurora Fire Rescue has decided to temporarily lift the city’s standing fire restrictions to allow residents to buy and light up fireworks starting Saturday, according to a news release from the fire department.
Fireworks that do not leave the ground or explode may be bought and lit in Aurora between June 15 and July 4 this year, the release stated.
“None of the nationally recognized metrics we monitor to assess environmental fire risk in our community exceed thresholds requiring a fire ban,” Aurora Fire Chief Alec Oughton stated in the release. “We urge those in our community to take precautions to prevent injuries or fires if you choose to celebrate Independence Day with fireworks.”
More than 10,200 emergency room visits across the country in 2022 were the result of fireworks-related injuries, and 73% of those visits happened between June 17 and July 17, according to a report from the .
Additionally, the estimates that fireworks spark upward of 19,500 fires each year in the United States.
Last year, fireworks thrown away in an Aurora trash can re-ignited, starting a two-alarm fire at a townhome complex that damaged several homes and injured a firefighter, Aurora Fire Rescue said.
Another fireworks incident killed a man in an Aurora dog park earlier this year.
The Aurora Fire Rescue Fire Marshal’s Office is in charge of fire restrictions for the city. Throughout the year, a stage one burn restriction remains active to prevent structure and wildfires from starting, according to the fire department.
The fire marshal has the authority to adjust the burn ban between June 15 and July 4 for fireworks celebrations as conditions — including weather, drought, and other pre-existing fire activity — allow.
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