Fireworks ban will send many in area to New Mexico

For the fifth year in a row, fireworks have been completely banned in El Paso County.

So where can you shoot them off this year? The answer is an easy one this year.

All of the incorporated towns to the East now have ordinances in place, also banning fireworks. That means everything to the East of El Paso is now off limits and those who want to shoot fireworks this year will have to go across the state line to New Mexico.

“Kind of on the heels of what happened to the County, we realized if we didn’t pass a more permanent ban, we would kind of be, unfortunately a sitting duck,” said Maya Sanchez, Mayor of San Elizario. “On Tuesday, at our last City Council meeting, we did adopt an ordinance that would basically be a permanent ordinance banning fireworks.”

Ray Sanchez is a firework stand owner in East El Paso County. But like every other fireworks vendor in the area, he will not open his stands for a fifth consecutive year due to the ban.

“In the past we had done several stands throughout the County,” Sanchez said. “You take every year as it comes. You evaluate and you take advantage of opportunities that you can.”

That means most El Pasoans who want to shoot fireworks will be heading across the state line to either Anthony, New Mexico, or Chaparral.

Anthony, New Mexico, Mayor Arnulfo Castaneda, who is expecting El Pasoans to flock to his town for fireworks, told ABC-7: “We plan for it and take all the precautions. We have a good relationship with the stands. They tell people, ‘You can buy here and pop here, but you can’t go anywhere else.'”

Chapparal has also been a destination for many seeking fireworks fun. An Otero County official told ABC-7 they are already shifting resources to chaparral in preparation for the fourth.