UNDATED (WKZO-AM) — The dry condition of some Michigan counties reportedly has the state fire marshal considering a ban on the use of fireworks in some parts of Michigan, possibly the entire state.
A report due out Thursday could determine just how severely dry west michigan counties have become in the last week. In last Thursday’s report, Calhoun and Branch counties were in a pre-drought status.
Some fire officials in the Lansing area have already imposed burning bans in some communities and are not issuing any new permits, but only a few have included fireworks bans.
State Fire Marshal Julie Secontine said they have had discussions but have not come to any conclusions.
Most professional shows would go on because they know how to prevent secondary fires. The ban would be mainly directed at backyard fireworks.
Meterologist Mark Sekelsky at the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids said we could see some rain Thursday evening, but not everyone will get wet and he doesn’t think it will be enough to put a serious dent in the dry conditions, even in the places that get rain.
The question becomes, even if a fireworks ban was imposed, would anyone pay attention?
It wasn’t that long ago that most fireworks were illegal in Michigan and that didn’t stop people from using them.
