(Dodge City, KS) (westernkansasnews.com)

Dodge City and Ford County Fire Department officials and Commissioners have reinstated a countywide and citywide burn ban that prohibits the use of fireworks of any type.  Officials have also decided to delay the community fireworks show in Dodge City that was scheduled for 10 p.m. on Independence Day evening.  Fireworks are still being allowed in Finney County and Garden City but the Fire Chief and Fire Marshal do have the authority to reinstate a burn ban there if conditions warrant it.  The community fireworks display in Garden City scheduled to begin around 10 p.m. near the Finney County Fairgrounds.

Conditions have been tinder dry throughout the region since a heat wave ushered in triple digit temperatures in late June.  Firefighters have been busy contending with a rash of mostly nuisance fires in both Ford and Finney County where fields and ground fuels are extremely dry and conditions often windy.