AURORA | Aurora abruptly banned the sale and use of all consumer fireworks after elevating fire restrictions to Stage 2 on Friday, reversing plans announced in June that would have allowed limited personal fireworks during the Independence Day holiday.
Despite the tighter restrictions, the city’s Fourth of July professional fireworks display will proceed Saturday night with enhanced fire safety measures, according to Aurora Fire Rescue spokesperson Eric Hurst.
“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 in a statement.
Personal-use fireworks are banned across much of the metro area because of elevated fire danger. Douglas County and Arvada yesterday canceled their public professional shows.
The Stage 2 restrictions take effect immediately and prohibit the sale and use of all consumer fireworks, along with recreational fires, open or prescribed burns, model rockets and outdoor smoking in city parks and open spaces.
Aurora Fire Rescue said it has developed extensive safety plans for the city’s fireworks show, including positioning multiple fire units around the launch site to quickly extinguish any fires caused by sparks or debris. The department also will increase staffing for its wildland specialty crews through the holiday weekend and operate under a unified command with the Aurora Police Department, the city’s Office of Emergency Management and other departments.
Oughton urged residents to celebrate by attending the city’s organized event rather than using personal fireworks, saying the restrictions are intended to help keep firefighters available for emergencies.
The announcement marks a significant change from Thursday, when Aurora remained one of the few metro-area cities still allowing limited consumer fireworks that stayed on the ground and did not explode. Under the new restrictions, those fireworks are no longer permitted.
Aurora fire officials cited worsening wildfire conditions across the state, where many areas are dealing with multiple emergency and disaster declarations in response to active wildfires.
They also said that hundreds of Colorado firefighters and resources from Front Range departments have been deployed to fires across the state and western United States, reducing the mutual aid available if a major wildfire were to break out in Aurora.
Aurora spans Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties, all of which are now under Stage 2 fire restrictions.
Despite heightened fire danger, Aurora will hold Fourth of July celebration with music, fireworks
The city will celebrate Independence Day with its annual 4th of July Spectacular beginning at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Great Lawn of the Aurora Municipal Center.
The free event features live music, food vendors and a large fireworks display.
The Aurora Municipal Center is located at 15151 E. Alameda Parkway.
Musical performances will begin at 6 p.m. with Little Moses Jones, followed by Ninety Percent 90s. The celebration will end with a 30-minute fireworks show scheduled to begin at 9:30 p.m.
Guests are welcome to bring their own food and nonalcoholic beverages. A variety of local food trucks also will be available, officials said. Organizers said attendees should bring cash or a credit or debit card because no ATM will be available at the event.
Free parking will be available on site on a first-come, first-served basis. Parking areas include the east lot in front of the Aurora Municipal Center, the west lot in front of the Aurora courthouse and the lower south lot adjacent to the Great Lawn. Event staff and signage will direct visitors to available parking.
Attendees also may take the R-Line to the Aurora Metro Station and walk a short distance to the event site.
Officials asked residents to report illegal fireworks use or outdoor fires through the city’s reporting system and to call 911 for life-threatening emergencies.
I’m not sure the announcement will make a difference. Fireworks are a problem that has not been solved because of the utter lack of enforcement of laws that are on the books. In League City, Texas, where we lived for 20 year, they get 52 inches of rain a year, but police cars came to our cul de sac, where we had an adolescent mascarading as a parent, at least 4 times that I remember, to warn users of illegal fireworks. Here, where we are bone dry, it seems wide open. My daughters neighborhood lights up the skies with all kind of illegal fireworks, but no patrol cars come around. Laissez faire enforcement = no compliance!
If only that could have been accurately predicted when the Sentinel had their first article on this subject this year. Oh wait, it was.
Looking forward to the mayhem in Court when charged violators point out Aurora’s ordinance, the announcements of Council that fireworks will be allowed this year, and the local sale of fireworks with posted City temporary business licenses. Ceratianly seems they have been lead to believe, after reasonable diligence, that fireworks are allowed. This last minute, poorly publicized prohibition seems inadequate notice of the prohibition.
I also have a problem from a storage point of view. If folks decide to not use their fireworks what are they to do with them, store those fire hazards in their garages for a year next to gasoline, oil, paint and turpentine?
“We really tried to allow people to be able to celebrate the 4th of July responsibly with legal fireworks” In short, some at the city, a few lawmakers with some sense already have seen enough and has a good idea how so many local citizens otherwise care less how the consequence of their actions wind up. I would also think city officials had discussions with their legal department about their own ridiculous idea to allow uncontrolled fireworks inside a tinder box, and its potential fallout. This thinking to anyone interested in some fashion of order and operating on the honor system in today’s society, is truly naïve. We have speed limit signs, we have license registration, we have mandatory insurance regulations. Do any rules matter? To some yea, to others, well that’s something negotiable. https://www.cpr.org/2024/12/26/colorado-high-number-uninsured-drivers/
The fireworks experience and personal responsibility it demands is no different than the rules of the road.
People are easily willing to pay big bucks for noise. Out here in the hood folks are looking for something new. They always manage to be able to find their share of professional-grade pyrotechnics. Then it becomes just too tempting for those, that feel so unrestricted with their entitlement. Their mine, and I’m gonna blow-em-up as I damn- well please. That’s not any 4th of July honor, and the city in the end, figured the same.
There is no enforcement of fireworks laws and hasn’t been in the thirty six years I’ve been in north Aurora. Even tonight people are firing mortars over my property. Be nice if the media would call out Coffman, Chamberlin and Oughton on why nothing is being done. But it won’t happen. The people breaking laws have more protection that people obeying them. Enough said.