Arizona PBS
July 1, 2021
Fourth of July fireworks come with special complications in Arizona, where local officials balance the desire for pyrotechnics against the potential for wildfires. That was not an issue when Air Force families stationed in England gathered for fireworks in this 2013 photo. (Photo by Airman 1st Class Dillon Johnston/U.S. Air Force)
WASHINGTON – With the pandemic winding down, cities and towns across the state are looking toward a more typical Fourth of July this year – and typical in Arizona means balancing fireworks against the potential for wildfire.
This Independence Day comes as “exceptional drought” conditions continue across much of the state, where thousands of acres of wildfires were burning Thursday.