According to the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands, the quieter year for fireworks has paid off with fewer Fourth of July fires and better air quality over the holiday weekend.The air quality director for the Utah Department of Environmental Quality Bryce Bird says he believes the improvement of air quality to be a “combination of both fewer fireworks being used, and of course fewer fires being started by those fireworks.”
Bird says in the past, Fourth of July has been the worst air quality day of the year. But this year, almost all of DEQ’s monitors showed the state was well below previous years’ numbers.
The DEQ is encouraging everyone to do their part in preventing wildfires. Make sure campfires are fully put out, chains aren’t dragging from your car and don’t shoot in dry grass areas.
