Dallas Fire-Rescue is totalling up the numbers from the Independence Day weekend and this year looks much better, especially in the number of grass fires caused by illegal fireworks.
Officials say the lower number of incidents may be due to our wetter Spring compared to last year. While it's been unusually hot and dry lately, North Texas did have a lot of rain in May which kept the grass green.
This past Independence Day weekend, Dallas firefighters responded to 48 grass fires believed to be tied to illegal fireworks. Last year, it was more than five times as many at 258 calls.
Also this year, there were three structure fires that were the direct result of fireworks. Last year it was 14.
In 2022, the total number of Dallas Fire-Rescue calls over the holiday weekend was three times higher than this year's number.
Police and fire investigators teamed up to respond to illegal fireworks calls this year. They confiscated more than 1,300 pounds of pyrotechnics. That's 40 percent more than last year.
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