This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

For some city officials and Utah residents, the ashes from Tuesday night's Fourth of July firework blazes mark more than just destruction — they also provide a wake-up call on the need for tighter restrictions.

Fire department dispatchers reported nearly 70 fireworks-related calls Tuesday night through Wednesday morning in Salt Lake County. One of the fires, believed to be sparked by overnight Independence Day fireworks, left about 100 residents of a Midvale apartment complex homeless.

"Last night, I felt like I was in a war zone," said longtime Midvale Mayor JoAnn Seghini. "It was absolutely mayhem. I just live in a neighborhood, but everybody that wanted fireworks was putting off fireworks. It didn't matter if there was a dry field or anything else."

More than 50 municipalities have city-specific fire restrictions listed on the Utah Department of Public Safety's website, but Midvale is not among them.

State Fire Marshal Coy Porter said this year has been worse for fireworks danger than usual because of high temperatures and dry weather. To combat these conditions, Porter said the state has established "more restrictions than there have been for many, many years."

Those restrictions may not make much difference. Two homes that were heavily damaged in Cottonwood Heights over the holiday were in an area where there were fire restrictions, said Mayor Kelvyn Cullimore.

"It kind of shows that sometimes, even with your best intent to set rules and regulations, people don't abide by them," he said. "But I still think it's important to have appropriate restrictions in place."

One of the areas where Cullimore said he'd like to see tighter regulation is with aerial fireworks.

"We can reduce the risk, and I think one of the ways you do it is you go back to the previous thing of reducing or eliminating aerial fireworks," he said. "If [residents] want to see big aerial fireworks, [they should] go to the public shows that are run by the professionals."

Utahns have been able to discharge aerial fireworks — sometimes known as "multiple tube," "repeater" or "cake" fireworks — since 2011 when the Legislature passed and Gov. Gary Herbert signed Rep. Jim Dunnigan's HB22. At the time, Dunnigan, R-Taylorsville, told The Salt Lake Tribune that allowing these fireworks would prompt fewer people to travel to Wyoming to buy illegal fireworks and would keep sales-tax revenues in Utah.

Herbert last month warned Utahns to be cautious and said he would work with local leaders to assure a safe fireworks season, even raising the prospect of a statewide ban. However, he quickly added that he had no plans to impose such a prohibition.

A spokeswoman with Herbert's office said he was traveling and was not immediately available for comment Wednesday.

Though Cullimore and Seghini said they would like to see former firework regulations reinstated, Porter said it definitely wouldn't happen until the Legislature meets next year — though he noted municipalities still have time before Pioneer Day to pass ordinances that restrict discharge in some areas.

"It's hard to get to this point of the year and say, 'Now we want to do something that's not supported by state statute,' " Porter said. "But it is definitely up to the local municipalities and what restrictions they want to form."

For Utahns like Holladay resident Greg Neil, fire concerns aren't the only reason to establish tighter regulations on individual firework use.

"We have a dog and a 6-year-old who are kept up late by the fireworks," he wrote in response to a question about banning fireworks that The Tribune posted through the Public Insight Network. "Our dog gets terrified and shakes and pants uncontrollably, keeping the adults awake until at least an hour after the last boom, which is usually well after midnight, since no one seems able to restrict their use to the legal time frame. With the lack of sleep and the terrorized pets, July is hell for us."

Others, however, oppose increased fireworks regulation on principle.

"I would like to be free to do as I choose," Sandy resident Randy Clements wrote. "If I hear, 'There should be a law against…' I take pause. Hopefully I [use fireworks] in a responsible way that will not affect others. However, if I am irresponsible, through negligence or accident [and] cause a problem, then there are consequences for my actions."

Springville resident Lynn Schofield said the actions of a few should not affect everyone's freedom.

"Most individuals are cautious and concerned with the current environmental issues," she wrote. "Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater."

Although Cullimore, the Cottonwood Heights mayor, agreed with this statement, he said it's important to weigh the costs of fireworks with their benefits.

"You hate to take away the opportunity from those who are properly using fireworks," he said. "But you've got to balance that with the cost to the community of loss of property and emergency response. The fire last night was potentially very disastrous. We had dozens of homes in the path, and had firefighters not been as effective as they were, we could have had some very serious outcomes."

As people plan their Pioneer Day parties for the July 22-24 holiday weekend, Porter recommended they exercise common sense, watch for overhead obstructions when using aerial fireworks and read the manufacturer instructions for each device. If Utahns cut down on user error, he speculated, most firework fires could be prevented.

Editor's note • This story was informed by the Public Insight Network (PIN). The Tribune has partnered with American Public Media's PIN to better enable the newspaper to include the views and experiences of Utahns.