More than 90 percent of wildfires are human-caused, and the Fourth of July is the single most dangerous day of the year for starting one.The Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is welcoming visitors for Independence Day, but fireworks and pyrotechnics stay prohibited on public lands – every forest, every campsite, every day, not just during fire season. California’s 18 national forests see a record number of visitors on the Fourth, and Pacific Southwest Region Director Jim Bacon put it plainly: leave the fireworks to the cities and local groups putting on official displays.
Skip the fireworks, watch the stars instead. A clear night sky over a national forest beats any show you could set off yourself.