Record-setting drought conditions in both Harris and Montgomery Counties prompted County Commissioners to enact a ban on the sale and use of fireworks last week.

The stipulations set forth in the bans still allow professional fireworks shows, such as the ones scheduled in Tomball, Magnolia and The Woodlands, to take place.

However, while the annual 4th of July fireworks show is still planned for Tomball, Fire Chief Randy Parr explained the arid conditions could still put a damper on the show.

 Parr said last week that he had met with Tomball City Manager George Shackelford and explained that if the drought situation does not improve, the department may opt to cancel the show.

“The show is planned, but we have a lot of details to work out,” Parr said.

He said the decision on whether or not to hold the show would not be made until two days prior, on July 2.

“It’s just going to depend on how much rain we get,” Parr said. “Have we got enough green in the trees and in the fields not to worry about igniting the world? Are we going to have enough mutual aid resources?”

He added that if the show is cancelled, a similar show would be scheduled for “an alternate date that will coincide with another big event.”

Even if the Tomball fireworks show is cancelled, the city will still hold 4th of July activities and events as they have in years past in the Target parking lot.

In addition to the county bans on fireworks, the City of Tomball itself does not allow the use or sale of fireworks within the city limits.

“So if you’re coming up here to shoot off fireworks, be prepared to go to jail and have your stuff confiscated,” Parr said.

Meanwhile, the City of Magnolia has said plans for its July 4th show at Unity Park are still a go and Montgomery County Pct. 2 Commissioner Craig Doyal said that, to his knowledge, plans for the popular fireworks display in The Woodlands have not changed.

Doyal added that rains to the area the brought a respite to the heat and dry conditions weren’t enough to deter the commissioners from enacting the ban.

“Unless we hear different from the Fire Marshal’s office, I don’t see that change occurring at this time,” Doyal said.

Montgomery County has been spared the large-scale wildfires seen across Texas and locally in Grimes and Walker Counties.

“There’s been nothing of the size that we’ve seen in Walker and Grimes, but we’re standing on alert and trying to assist where we can,” he said.

On June 21 Harris County commissioners enacted a similar ban, which was later signed into order by County Judge Ed Emmett.

Since all 34 municipalities already prohibit firework sales and usage in their cities, the ordinance, like Montgomery County’s, banned them in unincorporated areas.

According to a statement released by Emmett, Harris County is experiencing unprecedented drought conditions this year, with measurements on the Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) approaching 750.”

The KDBI ranges from 0 to 800 and is a measure of soil moisture and an indicator of fire potential.

Comments (1)

Subscribe to this comment's feed