Fireworks Banned as Blazes Continue

A week and a half before the Fourth of July, Gov. Lawton Chiles banned fireworks to prevent tinder-box conditions from exploding into more wildfires across the state. “Obviously, this is not something we want to do. This is a little like taking away Christmas,” Chiles said. But he said: “It’s so dangerous.” More than 1,000 blazes have broken out since May 25, scorching 155,000 acres in Florida’s worst outbreak of fires since 1932. Nearly 30 people have been injured. Violators can get up to 60 days in jail and $500 in fines.