Grand Junction, Now Fruita Band Fireworks Sales

Fruita is the latest municipality to ban the sale of fireworks.

What's a pyromaniac like myself to do? I'm just a big kid when it comes to fireworks. Going to see a quality fireworks display is fine but there's nothing more fun than shooting them off yourself. That's my worry. First they ban the sale of 4th of July fireworks and then the next thing you know, fireworks are contraband.

I get that it's dry. Nobody wants to see another wildfire. But isn't it always "dry" here? The valley only averages about 9 inches of precipitation per year. Isn't there always a "fire danger"? "It's something the City of Fruita has never done," says Frank Cavaliere,  Lower Valley Fire District Chief, "So it is new territory, but it was something that was very thought out."

Local Lower Valley firefighter Ben Gardner had this to say, "If someone lighting a piece of toilet paper on fire can start an over 220-acre fire (a reference to the Skipper Island fire), think about what a firework would do." I get that. However, he went on to say "Every year since I've been here, without fail, we have gone to a fire that has been started by someone with fireworks." If that's the case, how's this year really that much different? Are we all destined to sitting in a lawn chair and gazing up at "professional" 4th of July displays from now on?  .

.Credit: KKCO11News