Why this Fourth of July has fire officials and veterans bracing

Ahead of the country’s 250th anniversary, firework retailers and pyrotechnicians said they're seeing surging demand. From coast to coast, communities are preparing giant shows, and families are looking to spice up their backyard barbecues.  

Independence Day is going to be "the grandest 4th of July that we've seen in 50 years," said Julie Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechnic Association, a trade group.  

Phantom Fireworks, the largest firework chain in the country, has already seen an uptick in traffic and is expecting its "greatest sales ever," said vice president Jessica Dragoiu. "Everybody's gearing up for it."

But not everyone is excited.  

Fire officials in drought-stricken western states say the expected uptick in explosions is ratcheting up their anxiety. 

"We are definitely bracing for what could be an unusually busy summer as people celebrate," said California State Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant.  

Fireworks spark tens of thousands of wildfires across the United States each year, causing deaths, injuries and millions of dollars in property damage. In mid-April, a blaze tore through more than 10 acres in Lake City, Florida, in the northern part of the state, after embers from a firework ignited dry vegetation. 

Out west, officials are on especially high alert. Low winter snowfall and hotter-than-normal temperatures have set the stage for what’s expected to be a dangerously dry summer. Some areas have already begun restricting water usage.  

A single errant firework ember could smolder acres of land.

Chris Brunette, fire and life safety section chief for the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, said the state is "very concerned with the dry landscape." While he acknowledged this summer will be drier than most, Brunette said, Colorado is used to arid conditions. 

His team is warning people about which fireworks are off limits and how to dispose of them properly. Anything that shoots off the ground or explodes, like bottle rockets, cherry bombs and mortars, isn't allowed in the state. 

But Brunette said he isn’t blind to people's desire to celebrate.  

That's why, harkening back to the nation’s founding era, the state is promoting "bucket brigades" to limit the damage of illegal fireworks.  

At the time of the American Revolution, the term referred to the line of colonists who would pass down buckets of water to help quench a neighborhood fire. Colorado is using the term to encourage people to soak spent fireworks in a bucket outside overnight.  

While people in Colorado are all too aware of the wildfire threats, Brunette said, it can be enticing for them to drive to another state and buy illegal fireworks.

Most fireworks enter the United States from ports in Southern California. Berlant said he's seen an "explosive growth" of illegal fireworks pouring into the country in recent years.  

“Most of the explosions and even injuries are from illegal fireworks or the unsafe usage of fireworks,” he said. 

Deaths and injuries related to fireworks skyrocketed last year, with firework-related injuries rising by 52% year over year, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. 

While states determine what types of fireworks they allow, the federal government sets baseline safety standards. In 2025, Berlant’s agency confiscated millions of pounds of pyrotechnics that didn’t meet those requirements, though that wasn’t enough.

Seven people were killed in a July 1 explosion at an illegal fireworks warehouse in Northern California. In early April, eight people were charged in connection with the incident. 

This year, Berlant said fire and law enforcement agencies are working together in California to stop illegal distributors.

"While education is No. 1, enforcement of keeping the illegal fireworks off our streets really has been an increased strategy," Brunette noted. 

Military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder can experience distress from the sudden, loud bangs and vibrations of fireworks. And with more fireworks than ever expected to dot the night sky across the country this year, some worry there will be fewer ways to avoid such anguish.  

Passageways, a nonprofit that helps veterans in Kansas, is hosting a 12-hour party for a small group of veterans at an underground salt mine museum. The event will feature barbecue ribs and brisket, games, giveaways, sleeping bags and, notably, no fireworks.

In the 600-feet-deep cavern, attendees will not be able to hear, feel or see any of the fireworks above. 

Passageways co-founder Jennifer Garrison said she received a phone call from a veteran who had tried everything from earplugs to noise-canceling headphones to block out fireworks noise. After registering for the event, she said, he told her, "I don't think I have to suffer this year.” 

"It brings to front of mind all the veterans that got us to where we are and everything they've been through so that we can have the freedoms we have," Garrison said. 

USA Today reporter Trevor Hughes contributed to this report.