Amid Drought, Minnesotans Urged To Skip Personal Fireworks

MINNESOTA — The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources suggests residents skip their personal fireworks shows this 4th of July weekend because of the extreme drought and subsequent high fire danger.

One spark could ignite a wildfire, the DNR said.

"All of Minnesota is abnormally dry or in a stage of drought," warned Casey McCoy, fire prevention supervisor, in a news release. "With trees, grasses and shrubs dried out, it’s easy for a spark to quickly become a wildfire."

McCoy notes that fireworks are not allowed in any state park, state forest, or other DNR-administered lands.

The DNR has also placed burning restrictions in Beltrami, Cass, Crow Wing, Hubbard, Itasca, Morrison, Todd, and Wadena counties.

More than 1,400 wildland fires have burned roughly 35,000 acres since March in Minnesota, according to the DNR.

This number of wildfire starts is more than a typical calendar year. Dry conditions have been building since last fall, and many areas in Minnesota remain abnormally dry or in moderate drought.