Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, through his spokesman, said Wednesday the capital would keep last year's restrictions in place for the holiday centered around July 24. That primarily includes a ban along the city's benches. He worries that a total ban would impact businesses that sell the colorful incendiaries.

That business angle also bothers Cottonwood Heights City Manager Liane Stillman, who calls a ban request "bad timing."

"We need to do it before people get licensed," she said. "It's a problem for the city to demand a fee and then create a situation where the product is illegal."

Meanwhile, in Provo, Mayor Lewis Billings said he agrees with the governor's fire-danger warning, but added that the city's current ban in the foothills is sufficient. He won't expand it citywide.

And Logan Mayor Randy Watts said his northern Utah city is tightening its restrictions to prevent wildfires along its mountain benches - but is not seeking a citywide ban.

At Wednesday night's council meeting, Cedar City council members decided to continue to restrict fireworks use to two high school parking lots and the city park, as the city has in past years.

A handful of cities have adopted ordinances or signed executive orders that either ban fireworks outright or call on residents to voluntarily comply with Huntsman's request.

In fact, Moab, in southeast Utah, and Garden City, on the shores of Bear Lake, beat Huntsman to the punch. Their bans took effect July 11 - two weeks prior to the declaration.

Officials in West Jordan, South Salt Lake and Murray elected not to ban fireworks. Instead, they stayed with existing restrictions and called for residents to voluntarily refrain from lighting personal fireworks. South Salt Lake additionally asked fireworks businesses to voluntarily suspend sales.

State Forester Dick Buehler is encouraging the ban, pointing out that fires can be easily started with legal fireworks under current weather conditions.

And statistics show that fireworks do cause fires. From 2002 to 2006, fireworks were blamed for 367 fires statewide and three injuries - at a cost of nearly $500,000.

But while Buehler agrees with the request of his boss, the governor, he has said fireworks are not a major cause of wildfires, and prior to July Fourth, he said a ban would "open a can of worms" with fireworks manufacturers.

Joseph Stabile, regional manager with Phantom Fireworks, spent much of Wednesday morning calling the fire marshal to see how the patchy restrictions and bans would affect his sales booths. Any setback also would affect several nonprofit organizations that his sales benefit, Stabile said.

But the state fire marshal said he is unaware of any moves to shut down distributors.

The governor also drew support from the state Division of Air Quality. It likes Huntsman's emergency declaration - not only because of the wildfire danger, but also because fireworks pollute the air.

Short-term exposure to those pollutants can hamper breathing and aggravate asthma attacks and lung disease, and it has been linked to heart attacks and arrhythmias, according to the division.

On July Fourth, many air-monitoring stations recorded levels of fine-particle pollutants that exceeded the federal health standard - notably in areas surrounding smaller neighborhood or family gatherings igniting their own fireworks.

But for the handful of cities that rushed to the governor's call, enforcing their new restrictions brings new issues.

Representatives from the Unified Fire Authority, Draper City and the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office said they would enforce new bans, though officers and deputies would have discretion, on a case-by-case basis, on whether to issue tickets and confiscate fireworks.

"We're trying to work through prevention rather than having to cite people," Torgersen said. "But people who use them will run the risk of being cited."

Ultimately, Torgersen said people should simply be careful.

"We hope people have a happy holiday," he said. "But we hope they'll celebrate in a safe way."

sgehrke@sltrib.com

---

* Tribune reporters ROSEMARY WINTERS, CATHY MCKITRICK, MARK HAVNES, DEREK P. JENSEN, JEREMIAH STETTLER, DONALD W. MEYERS and ARRIN NEWTON BRUNSON contributed to this report.

Fireworks policy

* Tightening restrictions: Logan, Brigham City

Implementing citywide ban: Draper, Eagle Mountain*, Holladay, Moab, Alta, Garden City

*Currently working toward a ban

* Business as usual on

July 24 for: Unincorporated S.L. County, Salt Lake City, Ogden, Provo, Sandy, Taylorsville, West Jordan, Cedar Hills, Lehi, American Fork, West Valley City, South Jordan, Midvale, Layton, Cottonwood Heights, Cedar City, St. George, Herriman, Riverton, Orem, Roosevelt