Fireworks delayed amid fire threats

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
Dry weather, loads of fuel, wind and fireworks resulted in the
postponement of the Newcastle Volunteer Fire Department’s  4th of July fireworks show. Limited personnel was the official reason as fires erupted in the county that required firefighters’ presence. 
Beginning Saturday afternoon, Weston County Fire Warden Daniel Tysdal said, local fire resources responded to a total of 15 different incidents in 24 hours. According to Tysdal, the county has seen more fires already this year than in all of 2019. 
“From Saturday afternoon to Sunday afternoon, we saw a total of 15 different incidents, seven inside of Newcastle city limits and eight outside of city limits. Twelve of those incidents were actual fires, while two were false alarms and
one fire was rained out,” Tysdal said. “Of the total 15, nine were caused by fireworks and four were of natural causes.”
Before the July 4 holiday, Tysdal and the Weston County commissioners implemented a fire ban within county limits because of the dry weather, amount of dry fuel and the perceived fire danger. Fireworks were only allowed within Newcastle city limits on Saturday between noon and midnight. 
With another red flag warning for the area on July 7, the third in the past week, Tysdal warned that the public needs to practice extreme caution.
According to Tysdal, the public should be aware that most days now and into the foreseeable future have critical fire weather conditions forecast. He said that fuels continue to become more critical each day. 
“The public is encouraged to use extreme caution in any outdoor activity that could cause a fire,” Tysdal said. “Also, please remember to check the Open Burning Restrictions pinned to the top of the Weston County Fire Protection District Facebook page.”