Riverside County Officials Urge Residents To Celebrate Safely This Fourth Of July

Riverside County officials are calling on residents to celebrate safely this long holiday weekend as temperatures rise.

“This is pretty unseasonable for us to be this warm this early,” Bruce Barton, director of the Riverside County Emergency Management Department (EMD), said. “We don’t want people to be out doing the usual June early July activities and push themselves, particularly when they’re doing outdoor activities.”

According to the National Weather Service, high temperatures in the city of Riverside are expected to be at or above 100 degrees Fahrenheit with temperatures in the Coachella and Palo Verde valleys expected to be near 120 degrees Fahrenheit through next Tuesday.

And, Barton said, this prolonged heat will only increase the fire danger throughout the county as the brush that thrived due to heavy rains earlier this year continues to dry out.

“Those fuels are becoming more and more volatile every day, and the longer this heat wave goes on, the more that is going to happen,” he said. “So people need to really be aware of that.”

That fire danger is of deep concern for Riverside County Fire Chief Bill Weiser, who is hoping people will refrain from the use of illegal fireworks and instead enjoy the larger professional shows being put on across the county.

“Here in Riverside County, except for a few small cities out in the desert, it’s illegal to use fireworks, and I encourage everyone to go see the wonderful public displays that are within all of our cities and areas that they can go and enjoy to do that,” he said at yesterday’s Board of Supervisors meeting.

To make it easier for people to find nearby displays, the department has put together a list of shows happening throughout the county that can be found on the department’s website as well as on its Facebook and Twitter pages.

“Enjoy those family gatherings in the evening when you’re together, just be mindful of not using fireworks and using the numbers to the sheriff when you see the illegal ones in your neighbor’s yard,” Weiser said in an interview with The Record. “It’s a threat right now this year, especially with the amount of grass that’s there.”

Along with being mindful of heat and fire dangers, the county is also calling on residents to prioritize water safety all summer long.

“Ensure you have an adult at pools that is on watch watching those children and ensuring that our little ones are having a good time, but that we’re being safe and mindful,” Weiser said. “And when we’re going out to the river, just make sure that people are using their floatation devices, that they have those on especially when on the boats or anything like that and to be mindful of their safety.”

More information about being safe during a heat wave can be found here on the EMD’s website and information about water safety can be found here on the Riverside University Health System’s website.