The Eugene City Council called an emergency meeting for noon on Wednesday to discuss a ban on fireworks through July 6.
The ban, if passed by a two-thirds majority, would not affect displays that were approved with a permit, such as those put on by the Eugene Emeralds when the team plays on the Fourth of July.
When Mayor Kitty Piercy announced the meeting on Tuesday, she said it was “in response to community concerns about fire dangers associated with severe drought conditions.”
The mayor did not say whether the recent blaze that took down Civic Stadium was a factor in the decision to call the meeting.
Several other Oregon cities have already enacted bans as a result of the unusually hot and dry summer. Temperatures have remained in the low-to-mid 90s for the last few weeks. The Bureau of Land Management has banned fireworks on its lands in Washington and Oregon through Oct. 15.
The cities of Sandy and Vancouver have banned fireworks with an exception for the Fourth of July.
And the City of Portland on Wednesday announced a burn ban — not affecting fireworks — as the forecast calls for dry conditions and high temperatures to continue into next week.
The Emerald’s Lauren Garetto will be at the meeting, live-tweeting the discussion as it happens. Follow along below:
Tweets by @laurengaretto