Brent Long says, "We started out really dry this year. We started to get a little bit of moisture at the end of spring. We had some good grass growth at that time. But now we're back to really ho and dry conditions. We're also looking at a reduction in firefighting crews that are available. We're looking at a reduction in resources."  Doug Bellinger says, "We always tell them be careful, watch where they're shooting and obey the local ordinances. Check and make sure they're not in an area that is in high fire danger. And if they are, stay more around the cement. Don't go out in the Black Hills or anything like that and say out of the fire protection area."  Only certain novelty fireworks can be used within Rapid City limits.   Fireworks will be prohibited in Pennington County if the fire danger reaches the extreme category on the South Dakota Grassland fire index.  Sturgis is banning fireworks within city limits.  Make sure you check wherever you go, since the laws may have changed since last year.

Tessa Thomas