Anchorage Fire Department cancels Independence Day fireworks

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Anchorage Fire Department says all fireworks shows have been cancelled in Anchorage, Eagle River and surrounding areas due to extreme dry weather.

Independence Day celebration fireworks were planned in Eagle River for Wednesday night and in Anchorage on Thursday.

Personal fireworks are banned by ordinance in Anchorage.

A burn ban also remains in effect, covering bonfires, campfires and burning of debris. Barbecue grills are allowed.

The state fire marshal last week banned the use of fireworks in most populated areas of because of fire danger.

That ban covers the Matanuska-Susitna, Fairbanks, Kodiak and Kenai Peninsula boroughs, the Copper River Valley and the northern Panhandle, which includes Juneau, Haines and Skagway.

The fire marshal on Tuesday cancelled the suspension for western Alaska, including Dillingham, Bethel, McGrath, Nome and Kotzebue.