Tarrant County Burn Ban Doesn't Include Fireworks

NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Both Tarrant and Parker County have joined the list of more than 220 Texas counties with burn bans in place.

But in Tarrant County the ban will have no effect on one of the top fire concerns this time of year.

With North Texas drying out and new fires adding to the 3,000,000 acres burned in the state this year, Parker County agreed to institute a burn ban this week.

While Tarrant County also instituted a ban they did so with one notable exception – 4th of July fireworks aren't going anywhere.

"Because of the rainfall we got three or four weeks ago, it took us out of the position the rest of the state is," explained Tarrant County Fire Marshal Randy Renois.

The drought index needs to be above 575 in Texas, by June 15, to ban certain fireworks. As of Tuesday, it was 563 in Parker County, but just 395 in Tarrant. So, despite how much Tarrant County officials may want to ban fireworks it's just too wet to make it happen.

Parker County based their restrictions on a disaster declaration and Governor Rick Perry's letter to ban all fireworks.

Dry conditions do have some people uneasy. Rather than fight concerns that fireworks are a big fire hazard, some retailers are pulling a few items off of shelves. Small rockets and any firework that flies in the air may disappear, but retailers will still have hundreds of other items to sell.

"So when you pull 10 or 20 items, it's minimal," explained Kent Herzog with Kenaco Sales. "There are plenty of fireworks this season for people to celebrate their Independence Day holiday, very safe."

Herzog says fire danger is something he considers every year, when setting up stores from Houston to Oklahoma. He says it's all a part of being a good business neighbor.

Nelson's Fireworks in Roanoke is fully stocked for the Friday opening and owners there say buyers are generally well aware of any fire dangers. Now they're just hoping publicity about the bans won't stop people from celebrating where the fireworks are still legal.

Fire marshals in Tarrant, Denton, Parker and Wise Counties are planning a large campaign to discourage people from using fireworks this year, because of the dry weather.