Officials ban fireworks in parts of Ada County over wildfire risk. Will it work?
Ada County officials have instituted a ban on fireworks in parts of the county ahead of the Fourth of July as weather conditions cause elevated wildfire risks.
In a news release Tuesday, county spokesperson Elizabeth Duncan said the Ada County Commission voted 2-1 to prohibit fireworks in unincorporated Ada County — areas of the county that are outside of the city limits of Boise, Meridian, Garden City, Kuna, Eagle and Star. The news release said that about 850 square miles of Ada County’s total 1,055 square miles is unincorporated.
A map of the ban area is available on the county’s website. County officials urged residents to contact the city they live in to learn more about city-specific fireworks restrictions.
Commissioners Rod Beck and Tom Dayley voted in favor of the ban, while Commissioner Ryan Davidson voted against the resolution.
According to the news release, Ada County commissioners have voted to ban fireworks in unincorporated Ada County for more than a decade.
Duncan said in the news release that wildfire threat conditions are elevated due to “a combination of persistent drought, historically low snowpack, early drying fuels and extreme early-season heat waves.” The Boise-based National Interagency Fire Center has reported more fires and more acreage burned to date this year in the U.S. than any year in the last decade.
“What this outlook is telling us is that we are set up for a potentially very long and very busy fire season,” said Jim Wallman, a meteorologist at the National Interagency Fire Center, in the news release.
