Smith's Food & Drug Stores Opt Not to Sell Aerial Fireworks this July 4th

This July 4th is going to be a little less grand for shoppers at Utah’s Smith’s Food & Drug Stores, as the Kroger division has elected not to sell aerial fireworks in response to the state’s drought conditions. According to a report in The Salt Lake Tribune, Smith’s instead will stock only “safe and sane” fireworks that remain on the ground, such as sparklers and fountains. “We’ve been paying attention to the high fire danger, the lack of snow pack and all the other conditions,” Marsha Gilford, a Smith’s spokeswoman, told the newspaper. “We don’t promote this as a do-all-end-all. We know there’s some controversy about the safety of the aerials.” According to the paper, despite the restrictions, Smith’s will continue to allow independent vendors to sell aerial fireworks from tents in its store parking lots.