All fireworks banned on Colville Indian Reservation

NESPELEM, Wash. (AP) – Leaders have banned all fireworks on the Colville Indian Reservation in north-central Washington, citing significant wildfire risks this summer.

The Colville Business Council announced the fireworks ban Thursday. The council said in a news release that it passed the resolution due to increased risk of forest and range wildfires and over concerns for the lives of those living on the 1.4 million-acre reservation.

Tribal Chairman Jim Boyd said the tribe is still recovering from last year’s wildfires and can’t risk celebrating the Fourth of July with fireworks this year.

Tens of thousands of acres burned on the reservation in two massive wildfires last year, destroying 20 percent of tribal land managed for timber.

Boyd says the council appreciated the economic impact the decision will have on tribal members who sell fireworks but decided that it had to consider the potential impacts on the entire community.