Fire departments around the Salt Lake Valley reported only a small number of fires ignited by fireworks used in Fourth of July celebrations.
Public awareness campaigns and an active wildfire season may have encouraged people to be responsible while setting off their own fireworks, fire officials said.
"I think folks are fairly in tune with what's going on and the danger," Unified Fire Authority Capt. Cliff Burningham said Thursday. "I think because of that, we saw nothing out of the ordinary."
Salt Lake City, Sandy and West Jordan Fire Department officials all reported just a few small firework fires.
With the exception of a two-alarm house fire in West Jordan that caused around $3,000 in damage, most were grass or field fires that were quickly contained.
West Jordan Battalion Chief Duane Paxton said two units were put on patrol Wednesday night to answer calls related to firework use.
The units responded to 35 calls and gave out 16 warnings for illegal fireworks or using fireworks in a prohibited area, Paxton said.
Despite a relatively calm night for most of the other cities, West Valley City Battalion Chief Bob Fitzgerald said the amount of firework-related incidents was "absolutely crazy."
He said that from 9 to 11:30 p.m., fire units were handling field and grass fires non-stop, putting medical and other important calls on the backburner.
"Pretty much every station was jumping from call to call for at least 45 minutes," Fitzgerald said.
Burningham said that despite a safe Fourth of July, firework users and fire departments need to continue being diligent through the month, because discharging fireworks is legal from July 1 through July 7 and July 21 through July 27.
"We're not out of the woods by any means," Burningham said.
