Fireworks still for sale, just don’t use them

DENVER — Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that Colorado is in the midst of its worst wildfire season in history.

This has prompted many Front Range communities to ban all fireworks for the Fourth of July holiday week.

Many cities have canceled their professional fireworks shows due to the high fire danger. Only Commerce City, Denver and a few others have decided to allow professional shows to go on. List of canceled fireworks shows

The Colorado Rockies will fire up the second of two shows on Saturday. The Colorado Rapids will have a show on the 4th, but for the most part, authorities say fireworks this year are just too dangerous.

“We know the public is confused because of the Governor’s Executive Order banning all fireworks,” said Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson. “But we just have to say…buy them but don’t fire them, save them for a much safer time.”

Grayson went so far as to ask, not order, all seven of the fireworks stands in his county to stop selling just to help everything make sense. As of late Friday, five of the seven had folded up their tents.

“This is the worst time we have ever had,” said Julie Falk, with Davy Jones Fireworks. “You see the parking lot, no cars, no one buying, it’s tough.”

Even in Cheyenne, Wyoming at the huge fireworks stores, there are few Colorado plates in the parking lots.

“We rely on customers from Colorado,” said Dave Zobell with Phantom Fireworks. “This time of year we have lines out the door, now people are few and far between.”

In Wyoming’s Laramie County, the BLM has set aside a “safe shoot zone” where people can sign a waiver and set of fpersonal fireworks as police and firefighters stand by for safety.

Many of the people we saw buying fireworks Friday planned to use their explosives in Wyoming. If they use them in Colorado be warned: police will be ticketing and arresting people for using fireworks. Fines and jail are possible if you get caught.