- Garden City restricts fireworks to Heritage Park parking lots due to dry conditions.
- Fireworks allowed July 2-4, 22-25, 8 p.m.-11 p.m.; extended to midnight on July 4, 24.
- Fire chief warns of fire risks; volunteer force may face response challenges.
GARDEN CITY, Rich County — Rich County is facing some of the driest conditions on record as it heads into the Fourth of July weekend. So, it will be taking extra precautions, and it wants visitors to know about them.
Not only are there abnormally dry conditions, but the area depends on a volunteer fire district.
"This year, for this time of year, we're the driest we've ever seen," said Mike Wahlberg, chief at the Garden City Fire District.
Wahlberg said that's from 20 years of taking those records. To say they're concerned is putting it lightly.
"So clearly, we're worried about the potential for people to start fires, cause fires with fireworks," Wahlberg said.
Garden City has announced that purchased fireworks can only be legally discharged around the Utah side of Bear Lake at the Garden City Heritage Park in the east and north parking lots, and only on certain dates.
On Monday, Wahlberg announced that until July 4, and again between July 22 and July 25, fireworks purchased in Utah can be legally discharged only in those designated spaces.
On those days, fireworks can be discharged between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. An exception is July 4 and July 24, when fireworks can be discharged between 8 p.m. and midnight.
"We've seen about a 90% reduction in our Fourth of July, 24th of July fireworks fires. So it's been a successful program for us," Wahlberg said.
There's a lot at stake in this town of about a thousand that's become a major summer getaway, Wahlberg said. Close to $1.5 billion worth of structures are located within the wildland urban interface out here, he said. If a fire takes off, he said the volunteer force could take longer to respond.
"It's going to be harder to contain," he said. "It'll spread faster."
On the Idaho side of the lake, Bear Lake County is in stage one fire restrictions. That means no open fires. Sparklers and fountains — fireworks that stay on the ground — are OK. Aerial fireworks available to buy in Utah are not legal there.
Contributing: Diana Jones
