“Our dry summer landscape creates a greater potential for fires caused by fireworks,” said Chief James Williams, the county’s fire marshal, said in a statement Monday.
Susan Gorin, the chair of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, urged residents not to use fireworks as entertainment during Independence Day celebrations this weekend.
“We have been working hard to protect ourselves and neighbors in recent months and we must continue to be diligent now that fire season has arrived,” Gorin said in the statement.
Fireworks start an average of 18,500 fires per year, including 1,300 structure fires, 300 vehicle fires, and nearly 17,000 other fires, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
More information about Sonoma County’s Fire Prevention Division is available here.
