Firefighters and residents work to extinguish bushes burning in the 3500 block of South Quintero Street July 4, 2026. PHOTO VIA AURORA FIRE RESCUE. 
Firefighters and residents work to extinguish bushes burning in the 3500 block of South Quintero Street July 4, 2026. PHOTO VIA AURORA FIRE RESCUE. 
Firefighters and residents work to extinguish bushes burning in the 3500 block of South Quintero Street July 4, 2026. PHOTO VIA AURORA FIRE RESCUE. 
Firefighters extinguished an outside vegetation fire that spread to the side of home in the 900 block of Lansing St. July 4, 2026. PHOTO VIA AURORA FIRE RESCUE.
AURORA | Despite a last-minute decision by Aurora officials to prohibit all consumer fireworks before the Fourth of July holiday, Aurora Fire Rescue responded to dozens of fires and complaints tied to fireworks over the holiday, including two blazes that spread to homes, according to preliminary figures released Sunday.
Between 8 a.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. Sunday, the department responded to 218 incidents, including 26 fire calls. Firefighters handled 10 vegetation fires, eight dumpster or trash fires and five reported fires that crews were unable to locate, Aurora Fire Rescue officials said in a social media post.
Fire officials said all of the fires were caused or probably caused by fireworks, except for one dumpster fire whose cause could not be determined.
Two outside fires spread to the sides of homes late Saturday night. One occurred about 11:15 p.m. in the 900 block of North Lansing Street, and the other about 11:40 p.m. in the 16500 block of East Harvard Avenue.
No injuries were reported in either fire.
During the holiday, an adult man suffered minor injuries from a firework and was taken to a hospital. No fire resulted from that incident, officials said.
The fires came one day after Aurora abruptly reversed course and imposed Stage 2 fire restrictions, banning the sale and use of all consumer fireworks after previously planning to allow limited ground-based fireworks during the holiday.
City officials announced Friday at about noon that worsening wildfire conditions across Colorado, combined with reduced availability of firefighting resources because of deployments to large fires elsewhere in the state and western United States, made the stricter restrictions necessary.
“We really tried to allow people to be able to celebrate the 4th of July responsibly with legal fireworks, but the elevated restrictions are necessary given the totality of circumstances this fire season,” Aurora Fire Chief Alec Oughton said Friday.
While consumer fireworks were prohibited, the city’s professional Fourth of July fireworks display proceeded as planned under enhanced fire-safety measures.
The response totals are preliminary and could be updated by the department, officials said.
Everyone already boughtheir fireworks. Now expecthem noto be used?
Rather than proclaim fireworks “banned”, which few knew about, tell everyone to have charged gardehoses athe ready nexto where the fireworks will be set off.
(Even those not participating in case something flies into their property.) (With a gardehose I wet our big pine tree well and kept the hose nearby)
Never hold an exploding firework. A defective fuse can burn-in.stantly.
Follow instructions on the firework. Usually: Place on ground. Light fuse. Get away.
Have a bucket of water into which to drop used sparklers or dip hand if burned.
(Immediately flush burns with cold water.)
Everyone know STOP – DROP – ROLL if clothing fire.
No frilling clothing which can be easily ignited.
Cover your cache of fireworks in case a spark flies toward them.
Ban shouldn’t have been lifted. Now this is a good story but, how many citations were written, the usual five or six. If laws are not enforced and fines not handed out people will do what they want. If people can spend hundreds on fireworks they can shell out a thousand for a fine. Don’t know why the media doesn’t interview the city on enforcement. Not enough DRAMA I guess.
I concur with Don’s comments. I’m 72 and sit in my house with the hose ready each year. My wife and I live in fear of a house fire each 4th. I remember the 4th in the 1960s, when we would pile into the car to see the city’s fireworks. Now, everyone seems to have their own show, and they have to be huge! The article states that we have fewer resources this year because we sent people to fight wildfires, but Aurora waited to cancel ’til everyone that wants to put on their own show had purchased their fireworks. Geez people, we knew this was coming with drought conditions reported each day in the news. The state law says no fireworks should be set off that leave the ground. Why can’t we enforce the law? While extraordinary leniency gives anyone rights to set off whatever, the same leniency infringes on the rights of people who desire safety of their homes! There are many who are silent who desire the city to follow state law and preserve our right to piece of mind!
Smart of Mikey to have gardehoses charged and athe ready.
Essentially saying “No fireworks”, is useless. They are going off all over.
Do what the fire department has not done – inform everyone to have gardehoses, wet down vulnerable areas, and educate how to use fireworks as safely as possible.
(More fires are caused by smokers. We have not banned smoking.)