Downtown Fort Worth fireworks show canceled as fires break out along river, across city
Fort Worth’s downtown fireworks show was canceled Monday night after grass fires broke out along the Trinity River minutes after it began.
Video by KDFW Channel 4 showed lines of fire along the banks of the Trinity River. Firefighter crews had been on site and had the fire extinguished by 10:45 p.m.
The show at Panther Island Pavilion is billed as the biggest fireworks show in Dallas-Fort Worth.
As of 10:30 p.m., the Fort Worth Fire Department had responded to 145 calls for grass and brush fires — 77 between 9:30 and 10:30 p.m.
Craig Trojack, a representative from the department, said officials had been preparing for the possibility of a grass fire happening at the event. He said the Tarrant Regional Water District had been mowing the grass, watering it down and making sure the area was maintained. There were also trucks on standby for the show, he said.
Fort Worth and Tarrant County are in a drought with the county’s level between severe and extreme.
The question of whether the show should’ve happened given the dry conditions wasn’t for the fire department to say, Trojack said. Laws were followed and the show was permitted. He said the department is working to mitigate grass fires across the city as calls comes in.
This story was originally published July 4, 2022 at 10:04 PM.
