Fireworks vendors ready for 4th of July, expecting big crowds out in the County

Fireworks will be allowed in unincorporated areas of El Paso County for the second year in a row.

The County banned fireworks for five straight years due to drought conditions and the threat of brush fires.

Fireworks are always banned inside the El Paso City limits, but out in the County, banning them depends on the drought index number.

Although that number was high enough from 2011 to 2015, last year it didn’t reach the 575 threshold needed for County Judge Veronica Escobar to ban them and that’s the case again this year.

In fact, the drought index number is currently in the low 500’s and falling, well below that 575 number needed for a ban.

That means you can expect it to be crowded in many unincorporated areas of the County this weekend.

Most El Pasoans go to the Montana Vista area off East Montana to celebrate by lighting fireworks. An added law enforcement presence is expected, as well as several street closures to protect homes in the Montana Vista area.

The following road closures will be in effect in Montana Vista:

Stansbury Street (at the end of the street leading to the desert area) Paseo Del Este (just east of Southview Road) Flager Road (1.7 miles north of Montana) Krag Street (near intersection of Marvin Lane) Vista Del Este (near intersection of Marvin Lane)

Many are already purchasing fireworks in anticipation of this weekend’s blast. ABC-7 was out in the area on Friday and ran into Fernie Viramontes, area manager for TNT Fireworks, who who is glad to be back in business after that five-year ban and hoping for another good year.

“A good year, we try and get at least about 80 percent of our product out and last year we exceeded that,” Viramontes said. “If we can sell out that’s a wonderful year. We ordered a little bit more this year. We kind of ran out early last year so we kind of compensated for that and hopefully we’ll have the same success as last year.”

Just like last year, a huge cleanup with the help of the adult probation department is scheduled for July 5 in Montana Vista.

Here’s a list of public firework displays:

Tuesday, July 4th:
-Music Under the Stars-Patriotic Celebration at Chamizal National Memorial
-Pop Goes the Fort-Ft. Bliss at Biggs Park
-Wet N Wild
-Western Playland
-Abundant Living Faith Centeraturday, July 1st
-City of Socorro Independence Day Extravaganza at Cougar Park