Bountiful Council unanimously adopts 2025 fireworks restrictions after public debate

The Bountiful City Council on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, voted unanimously to adopt ordinance 2025‑O‑7, which sets restrictions on the use of fireworks inside portions of the city for the 2025 season; the ordinance as written includes a boundary at Orchard Drive and runs through Jan. 1, the council said.

Council action followed public comment from residents asking the council to move the fireworks boundary higher on the hillside and a presentation from Fire Chief Stewart explaining the department’s wildfire concerns and training. The council discussed offering an alternate, controlled location at City Hall for residents who live above the restricted line.

Residents said they want the boundary moved. “I am here tonight to ask this city council to make a decision on fireworks for Bountiful based on our local conditions and the desires from local citizens to celebrate the fourth and 20 fourth here in Utah, and not to accept, blindly advice and policy from organizations that are outside of Bountiful,” Bountiful resident Matt Franzen told the council during public comment, asking the line be moved to Davis Boulevard.

Another resident, Alex Stenzley, who said he has raised the same request in prior years, told the council the city had previously allowed fireworks up to Davis Boulevard and that his neighborhood has not experienced the catastrophic fires some fear. “We’ve allowed fireworks up to Davis Boulevard in years that have been crappier water years, and we’ve allowed it up to Davis Boulevard with years that have been better water years,” Stenzley said.

Fire Chief Stewart urged the council to keep a lower boundary because of fuels and topography above Orchard Drive. Stewart described recent training with Davis County and the Wasatch Front fire warden and said the department has expanded its mutual‑aid planning; he said, in part, that he supports keeping the historic Orchard Drive line to reduce fire risk. He also noted state-level activity: “There’s a House Bill 48 that’s coming out… that basically identifies risk and structural triage score for people’s properties,” he said, referring to proposed state rules that would require assessments and could affect mitigation responsibilities.

Council members discussed several practical concerns: enforceability, public education and whether to offer a supervised site for residents to use fireworks safely. Council members noted that straight, easily explained boundaries are easier to enforce and that more complicated, jagged lines — for example, drawing around gullies or pockets of higher risk — make compliance and education harder. Several council members said they would support advertising a supervised fireworks location at City Hall if the public wanted one. City staff said doing so would not require a separate ordinance and could be handled through outreach and social media.

The council also asked whether the ordinance applies to New Year’s Eve; staff and the chief confirmed the ordinance language, as written, extends through Jan. 1. Council members discussed whether to treat other winter holidays differently and agreed that any holiday‑specific change would be best handled later by a separate ordinance or amendment.

Ultimately, Council member motioned to adopt ordinance 2025‑O‑7 following the chief’s recommendation; the motion carried unanimously with no roll‑call breakdown provided on the record.

Council members and staff said they heard from residents on both sides of the issue and that the matter could be revisited in the fall if the council wanted the chief to return with a new recommendation after seasonal review and additional mitigation planning.

The ordinance and related discussion come as fire officials nationwide and in Utah have focused on wildfire risk in the wildland‑urban interface, and as state lawmakers consider measures to assign responsibility for risk mitigation and assessment.

The council’s adoption of the ordinance was the final action on the fireworks item at the May 27 meeting; staff and the fire chief thanked residents for their comments and said they would publicize the new restriction and possible supervised site details through city channels.