The fear of drought-driven fires isn’t stopping most Illinois communities from putting on their annual Independence Day celebrations. Last week, several towns, including Plainfield, canceled their municipal fireworks shows because of the hot, dry conditions.
However, the show will go on in St. Charles. Park district and fire department officials decided Monday it was safe to go ahead with Wednesday's fireworks display at Pottawattamie Park. The city's superintendent of recreation says heavy rain over the weekend helped. The city also watered down the site.
Keep it safe
Fire officials from all over Illinois are encouraging people to leave the fireworks to professionals, and not just because of the increased fire danger: amateur fireworks are illegal in Illinois, except for novelties like sparklers and poppers.