Gallup officials weigh fireworks ban as drought concerns rise

Gallup Fire Chief Jon Pairett briefed the City Council on March 24 about drought conditions, a familiar warning sign in a city that already used last summer to ban fireworks before the Fourth of July. With New Mexico’s State Forester already having fire restrictions in place on non-federal, non-Tribal and non-municipal lands as of April 6, the question in Gallup is whether local limits will tighten again before holiday season crowds fill yards, roads and public spaces.

The March 24 council agenda described the drought update as a yearly presentation meant to prepare council members for possible fireworks restrictions later. That timing matters for Gallup and McKinley County, where one dry stretch can quickly turn into a fast-moving wildfire and where any ban can change how families, businesses and event organizers plan summer celebrations.

Gallup’s 2025 response shows how far those restrictions can reach. On May 30, 2025, the city declared extreme or severe drought conditions and then extended that proclamation on June 24. The order banned missile-type rockets, helicopters, aerial spinners, firecrackers, stick-type rockets and other fireworks listed in state law. It also barred display fireworks unless they were part of approved permitted events.

The city said Pairett presented drought status and forecasts from the National Weather Service along with information from the United States Forest Service. In the June extension hearing, the fire department chief presented evidence that the city was, and on an ongoing basis would be, affected by extreme or severe drought conditions. The proclamation said nearly all of the city was under extreme or severe drought and that no contrary evidence was presented.

That local history lined up with a broader emergency across New Mexico. In 2025, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham declared a drought and severe fire-conditions emergency and urged counties to ban fireworks. By July 3, 2025, McKinley County was among eight New Mexico counties under burn bans that explicitly banned fireworks, while more than 90% of the state was experiencing some level of drought. State records at that time also showed 531 confirmed wildfires and more than 140,000 acres burned.

For Gallup residents, the practical stakes are immediate. If leaders follow the same path again, outdoor celebrations could shift away from neighborhood fireworks, and anyone planning to haul fireworks, clear dry property or stage a permitted event will need to watch the city’s next move closely. The decision will hinge on the same mix of drought data, weather forecasts and fire agency warnings that carried the city through 2025.