Fireworks-caused fire breaks out in Prescott over July 4th weekend, FD says
PRESCOTT, Ariz. - The Fourth of July holiday arrives in Arizona during a dangerous heatwave and when the wildfire threat is high.
During a planned firework show in Prescott on July 1, someone decided to set off their own illegal fireworks, causing a fire to break out.
"Some people decided to shoot off a firework right before the fireworks actually shot off over at Willow Lake, and it only got about 20 feet in the air, and it exploded over some shrubs," Gabriel Martinez said.
It caught the brush on fire and spread.
Residents jumped in to put it out, and fast.
When firefighters arrived at the fire, it was about half an acre big with flames more than a dozen feet into the air.
"A little bit of shock, a little bit of panic due to the fact that there are excessive amounts of propane in that area. Just blessed that there were no wind and no gusts to make a fire go any more rampant than it was," Martinez said.
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"Our forests, especially up here in Prescott, and the surrounding areas, all around, can be just dry tinderboxes. We haven't had rain in the recent past, and they're so dry. The wrong firework going off at the wrong time can end up being disastrous," said Jeff Jones with the Prescott Fire Department.
"We just had the ten-year anniversary of the Granite Mountain hotshots. It just drives home the point how dangerous wild land fires are," Jones said.
The fire department is sending a warning.
"Illegal fireworks use it’s just that… Illegal. The wrong day, with the wrong wind combined with the wrong humidity could be disastrous for our forests. Remember… Carelessness is the greatest source of forest fires in our community!" Prescott Fire said.