Fireworks ban coming?

Mayor Kitty Piercy has called for an emergency meeting of the Eugene City Council to discuss a fireworks ban over the holiday weekend in light of fire danger in the area. The mayor’s ability to call such a meeting is pursuant to ORS 192.640.

Here is the statment from the mayor’s office today:

“In response to community concerns about fire dangers associated with severe drought conditions, Council will hold a special meeting and public hearing on Wednesday, July 1 at noon in Harris Hall to consider ordinance changes that would prohibit fireworks of any kind to be deployed between the date of Council action and July 6, 2015.

“Currently, legal fireworks are only allowed in Eugene on December 31, January 1, and from June 23 to July 6 each year. The prohibition of fireworks during the rest of the year would remain in effect. These dates were established in an ordinance passed by Council last year. Since that time the Eugene Police and the Eugene/Springfield Fire Department have ramped up education and outreach so that Eugene residents are informed of regulations and have information on how to safely discharge fireworks. Fireworks shows that require a permit, professional inspection, and fire crew onsite would not be affected.”

A copy of the ordinance is available on the City’s website www.eugene-or.gov.