Mere hours after Gov. Spencer Cox banned fireworks across the state until after the Fourth of July, one city in the Wasatch Back considered designating specific areas for the public to safely discharge fireworks, which would have been allowed under the emergency declaration.

The Heber City Council held an emergency meeting Thursday to discuss the possibility of allowing the use of fireworks at six public parks from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on July 4.

Wasatch Fire District Chief Eric Hales said at the meeting he would have preferred three or four locations. That’s because Independence Day is typically busy for the Wasatch Fire District, which would not have the bandwidth to send firefighters to monitor the six parks for that entire 12-hour period. 

Instead, the Fire District would have provided 5-gallon water buckets at each park for residents to dispose of fireworks responsibly and put out any small fires if needed. 

Heber City resident Barb Clark supported a citywide fireworks ban.

“I live in the north end, and we have a lot of people that just love their aerials. Cops have been called several times over the years that I’ve lived there. My house gets bombarded with shrapnel the next day, and all this detritus all over the place,” she said. 

Clark said she appreciated the logic of giving people who might set off fireworks anyway a safe place to do so, but that she was skeptical that everyone would follow the rules or even be aware of them in the first place.

The final decision ultimately came down to Mayor Heidi Franco, per Cox’s executive order. 

Franco expressed concern that Heber City would see an influx of visitors wanting to set off fireworks if they were allowed in some locations because fireworks were banned everywhere else in the Wasatch Back. She announced a citywide ban the following morning.

“This beautiful valley and mountains protect us, and now we need to protect them. Plus, your safety is most important,” she said. 

She referred to the city’s encouragement of voluntary water conservation to combat the current drought, saying, “The recent rain is not enough. … Let’s not make our city’s situation worse.”

Despite the ban, several public officials, including city councilors, Hales and Heber City Police Chief Parker Sever predicted fireworks use would likely happen over the holiday anyway.

Sever hails from Hanford, California, where he said fireworks are never allowed. Despite that, he said it was “difficult to enforce” and would likely be even more difficult in Heber City, where public fireworks use is typically allowed over the holiday.

“People aren’t putting on a big show, so by the time we triangulate where these things are going on from the sky, usually, their show’s done. And then, neighbors don’t want to tell on their neighbors,” he said.

Cox’s ban lasts July 2-6. Discharging fireworks in Utah is already illegal all other times, except July 22-25 for Pioneer Day, on Dec. 31 and for Chinese New Year. Cox has not announced the state’s approach to Pioneer Day fireworks. 

Oakley Mayor Steve Wilmoth said Friday the city plans on keeping the fireworks display at the Oakley Rodeo. 

More than 75% of Utah’s wildfires have been human-caused since the beginning of the fire season, according to the governor. 

Wasatch Fire Marshal Clint Neerings said most fires started by fireworks come down to “negligence and/or ignorance,” including people who set them off near vegetation, dispose of them in dumpsters without soaking them in water or discharge an aerial firework that inadvertently launches horizontally instead of vertically.

State forester Jamie Barnes described the quick spread of wildfires due to dry vegetation and the current drought as “unlike anything we’ve seen in recent memory.”

Hales agreed with that assessment.

“Coming out of the winter we came out of, and then the fire behavior and all the fires that we’re having in the state, it’s just getting drier and hotter,” he said. “We’ve been very fortunate. We’ve only had a handful of starts within Wasatch County, and they’ve been very small.”

He said wildfire risk is poised to get worse and worse going into July, and that what little moisture the county may receive is “not enough to make a difference.”

Violating Cox’s fireworks ban is punishable by an infraction and a fine of up to $1,000.

More severe punishments apply to areas under Stage 2 Fire Restrictions. Both Wasatch and Summit counties entered into Stage 2 Fire Restrictions on Friday. These restrictions apply to unincorporated state and private lands in both counties. Whether or not to implement Stage 2 Fire Restrictions in individual cities comes down to the decision of the local government. In 2025, Stage 2 Fire Restrictions weren’t implemented statewide until July 31.

The following actions are banned, will be enforced by county law enforcement and are punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine up to $1,000:

• Building, maintaining, attending or using a campfire or stove fire.
• Smoking, except with an enclosed vehicle, trailer, building, developed recreation site or while stopped in an area that is paved or free from dry vegetation.
• Discharging or using any fireworks, tracer ammunition or other pyrotechnic devices, including exploding targets.
• Cutting, welding or grinding metal in areas of dry vegetation.
• Operating a motorcycle, chainsaw, ATV or other small internal combustion engine without an approved and working spark arrestor.

The post Wasatch Back responds to Gov. Cox’s fireworks ban appeared first on Park Record.

Heber City is preparing to weather the storm — or rather, lack of it — during the outdoor watering season in light of Gov. Spencer Cox’s issuing of a statewide emergency declaration over drought conditions on Thursday. 

The latest Water Supply Outlook Report by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, released May 1, said this has been Utah’s “worst winter for snowpack going back to at least 1930.” Snowpack — the accumulation of snow, which melts seasonally into bodies of water like reservoirs — provides approximately 95% of the state’s water, according to the Utah Division of Water Resources.

Currently, 22 counties in Utah are in severe drought, with the remaining seven, including Wasatch County, experiencing varying levels of extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Just over half a percent of Wasatch County’s land area is experiencing extreme drought.

Heber City has been preparing for Cox to make an emergency declaration since the state-federal Drought Response Committee recommended he do so on May 7. 

In preparation for an emergency declaration, the City Council on Tuesday agreed to draft and vote on a resolution to enter into the second phase of the city’s four-stage water shortage plan during its next meeting.

The second phase indicates a moderate water shortage that is expected to last the rest of the pressurized irrigation season, which is April 15 to Oct. 15. 

The city encourages residents to voluntarily conserve water in several ways, including limiting hard surface washing, covering swimming pools when not in use and reducing the water level by four inches below spill line and washing vehicles using a bucket and hose nozzle. 

The city also asks that residents limit lawn watering to three days a week June through August and two times a week in April, May, September and October, and that residents to not water their lawns during rainy, snowy or windy days or between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

The third phase would make mandatory the guidelines around lawn watering, swimming pools and hard surface washing. The fourth phase would create more stringent water conservation mandates.

The full water shortage plan can be found in the agenda materials for the meeting.

Now that Cox has issued a state of emergency due to drought, Heber City could initiate the third phase of its water shortage plan. 

However, Cox’s emergency declaration does not include any statewide water conservation mandates, instead recommending that cities and counties implement their own restriction plans. As such, Heber City would coordinate with Central Utah Water Conservancy District, which includes Wasatch County, and local irrigation companies before entering the third phase, Mayor Heidi Franco explained.

“We have to rely on (the Central Utah Water Conservancy District) and what they tell the irrigation companies about how much is going to be coming through the canals that can be used for outdoor watering,” Franco said. “I’m expecting next month to get a report from (the Central Utah Water Conservancy District), as well as the irrigation companies, on if there would be any cutbacks, you know, 10%, 20%. Who knows if there would be any cutbacks for the outdoor watering levels that we’re used to?”

City engineer Russ Funk meets with representatives from the Central Utah Water Conservancy District on a monthly basis and said the district expects mandatory cuts at some point in the irrigation season.

“Right now, their message is voluntary reduction. Whatever we can save now is going to help us extend the irrigation season later,” he said.

Franco, for one, is eager to enter the third phase and wanted to do so before Cox issued his declaration.

“It’s not going to be a pretty sight when Deer Creek (Reservoir) gets lower or Jordanelle (Reservoir) gets lower. And I’m sure that when we see that happen throughout this summer, depending on moisture, people will be more cautious,” she said.

No phase of Heber City’s water shortage plan requires indoor water conservation. Nonetheless, the city will be including both outdoor and indoor water conservation tips in its newsletter.

Additionally, City Councilor Mike Johnston and Public Works Director Matthew Kennard recommended that residents download the EyeOnWater app, which tracks household water use.

Any cutbacks or mandates on agricultural water use would be issued by water districts or irrigation companies rather than Heber City. 

Agricultural producers can apply for the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food’s Emergency Disaster Relief Loan Program to help cover “disaster-related losses.” The six-month application period opened on Thursday in response to Cox’s drought declaration. 

Johnston expressed some frustration with agricultural water use on Tuesday.

“I don’t want us to save, save, save, cut back, cut back, cut back, and all the farmers don’t,” he said. “It’s kind of tough when you’re saving, and you’re not watering your park strip, and you drive by the billions of gallons being thrown on the hay. It kind of makes you feel stupid.”

City Councilor Yvonne Barney responded that that was no reason for individuals not to do their part in conserving water. She also recommended meeting with local farmers to better understand their water needs. 

She also alluded to the controversial 40,000-acre Stratos data center project in Box Elder County, which since its approval by the Military Installation Development Authority has prompted concern about its proximity to the Great Salt Lake and protests to its water rights applications. It’s still not clear exactly how much water the data center would use.

Barney said that “we may be frustrated” with “huge data centers going in” but that there was “nothing wrong with us being wise nonetheless” about individual water conservation.

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Park City Councilor Bill Ciraco recently traveled to Europe and was intrigued by a transportation system that is not under consideration in the Park City area.

A cog rail, sometimes an option when a route includes steep terrain, was one of the highlights of the trip for the first-term city councilor. Ciraco was part of a trade mission in April that provided a chance to learn about a wide range of issues, including transportation, at a time when the Park City municipal government is continuing to discuss traffic-fighting possibilities.

The World Trade Center Utah and the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity invited Ciraco on the trade mission. The trip included four nights in Zurich and four nights in Berlin, with various outings from the base cities. Ciraco self-funded the trip, which was estimated to cost $4,000, and will not seek taxpayer reimbursement.

“The cog rail afternoon was particularly illuminating,” he said in an interview about some of the research in Switzerland.

Ciraco relayed that the cog rail dates to the 19th century and remains a crucial element to the transportation network in that area. He noted the system’s longevity.

“The rail that we rode (in Switzerland) was installed in the 1860s or 1870s,” he said. “The actual infrastructure was built 150 years ago.”

Ciraco said the travelers learned the cog rail, part of the Rigi Railways system, generates upward of $50 million in annual revenue. It operates year-round and provides access to ski terrain and residences. He said the cog rail is “interwoven” into the everyday life there.

Ciraco said there could be a place in the Wasatch Range area where a cog rail would be an appropriate transportation option, but he does not intend to propose that one be studied.

Park City has prioritized transportation for decades as the traffic increased alongside growth in population and the tourism industry. It has proven to be a difficult topic, with Parkites and commuters expressing frustration with the traffic.

Officials in 2025 signaled they wanted to learn more about the prospects of building an aerial transit system linking Richardson Flat with the Snow Park base at Deer Valley Resort. The leaders in early 2026 supported dedicated bus lanes as the preferred alternative for the stretch of S.R. 248 inside Park City.

Ciraco said the trip included a stop at the world headquarters of manufacturer Stadler Rail AG in Switzerland and a Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group facility outside of Zurich. Doppelmayr USA is headquartered in Salt Lake City, and the firm is a leading manufacturer of ski lifts and other people movers. Ciraco has said he wants to become an expert in issues related to aerial transit. He met with the CEO of Doppelmayr USA, who was in attendance during the visit to the facility, and was invited to visit the Salt Lake City headquarters.

“It’s not (just) a ski lift. It can really be a means of transportation,” he said about aerial transit, adding that it can be employed in urban environments as well as mountain locales like Park City.

There was also a visit to the Basel, Switzerland, world headquarters of the pharmaceutical company, Roche. The travelers rode a commuter rail in Switzerland in addition to the cog rail. He said the popularity of public transit in Europe is “liberating.”

The city councilor, meanwhile, said the trip also provided time to build relationships in the state. He said he spent time talking to Gov. Spencer Cox, the governor’s chief of staff, the top staffer at the Utah Department of Transportation and two state senators. Ciraco said the state officials could have a better understanding of Park City after the trip.

Ciraco said there is brand awareness of Park City in the places the travelers visited and lots of respect for the state.

The travel to Europe occurred as leaders in Park City, the state and elsewhere consider possible infrastructure projects that could be pursued with any monies from Washington that may be earmarked amid the preparations for the 2034 Winter Olympics.

The international trip was the second one for Ciraco in two months, following his attendance at the Milano Cortina Winter Games for fact-finding purposes. He was not part of the official Park City delegation and self-funded that trip as well.

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Mohamed “Moe” Mohamed didn’t think the cryptocurrency ATM installed in his Heber City convenience store, Mountainland One Stop, about a year ago would cause so much trouble. He knew Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were gaining traction, so he thought nothing of signing a three-year contract to keep the machine in his store.

But Mohamed began to notice an influx of people, many elderly, visiting the store to use it as soon as it was installed. Many came with cash in hand, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars, to deposit. 

Mohamed asked these customers what they were doing, and he quickly realized they were being scammed. Unable to get out of his contract, Mohamed implemented a store policy: keep customers away from the machine at all costs.

The Heber City Council gave Mohamed a way out of his contract when it passed an ordinance prohibiting cryptocurrency ATMs on April 7. The operator of the cryptocurrency ATM has 60 days from the passing of the ordinance to uninstall the machine, which is the only one in Heber City.

Police Chief Parker Sever suggested the ban after hearing a presentation about cryptocurrency fraud from the Utah Attorney General’s Office a few months ago and having subsequent conversations with Mohamed.

“There was no intent on the part of One Stop to commit any fraud or to hurt anybody. In fact, they’re actively trying to do the opposite,” Sever said. “When they put that machine in there, they thought it was for a legitimate purpose, as I probably would have at the time, too.”

Cryptocurrency ATMs charge transaction fees ranging from 20% to 40%, while other online methods charge much lower fees, according to a city staff report. Additionally, these machines have minimal oversight and regulatory control, making them popular for fraud and other criminal activity.

Utah Criminal Deputy Attorney General Stewart Young said scammers from other countries often use cryptocurrency ATMs to transfer money across borders. That also makes them popular tools for money launderers.

Fraud involving these machines often involves the scammer convincing the victim to deposit money into the scammer’s account, Young explained. 

Persuasion can take a variety of forms.

For example, “pig-slaughtering” scams involve the scammer targeting a victim online and fattening them up through romance and affection before bleeding them dry.

“The scammer will invariably pretend to be an oil worker working on an oil rig in the Pacific Ocean or something like that,” Young said. “They’ll develop a romance online, and eventually, at some point, they’ll come up with some reason that they need money. It might be, ‘I really want to spend the rest of my life with you, but I can’t get off this oil rig. I want to start my own oil drilling business … and then we can be together forever.’”

Other scammers impersonate law enforcement officials and threaten legal consequences for missing jury duty or not paying a traffic ticket, all while insisting that the situation can be resolved by depositing money at a cryptocurrency ATM.

Another common scheme creates the illusion of investment. After the victim deposits money using a virtual currency kiosk, the scammer will deposit some of their own money into the account to make it look as if the victim’s investment is earning interest, Young explained. The scammer will convince the victim to deposit larger and larger amounts before withdrawing the money and shutting down the account.

Young estimated more than 90% of cryptocurrency ATM transactions are related to fraud or other criminal activity. 

That’s one reason the Utah House of Representatives passed House Bill 72 during the recent 2026 legislative session. The bill, sponsored by Republican Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox, who represents Weber County, creates statewide restrictions on cryptocurrency ATMs.

The bill requires operators of cryptocurrency ATMs to display a fraud prevention warning in English and Spanish and provide a toll-free, 24/7 customer service line. The machines also must print receipts, including transaction information and the relevant state law enforcement or government agency for reporting fraud.

The bill also makes it illegal for a cryptocurrency ATM to accept transactions over a certain amount. The machine cannot accept more than $2,000 per day during the three days following the customer’s first virtual currency kiosk transaction. After that period, the machine cannot accept more than $5,000 from a single customer per day.

These provisions go into effect on Wednesday.

Starting July 1, local law enforcement agencies are required to have at least one officer undergo specialized cryptocurrency investigation training at least once every three years.

Some cities have banned cryptocurrency ATMs altogether. Layton was the first city in Utah to do so, which it did in March. Heber City was the second and modeled its ordinance on Layton’s.

Two states, Indiana and Tennessee, have passed legislation banning cryptocurrency ATMs. Both states’ respective governors signed bills during this year’s legislative session. 

Undersheriff Josh Probst said there are no other cryptocurrency ATMs the Sheriff’s Office is aware of in Wasatch County.

In Summit County, Park City Police Department Lt. Danielle Snelson and Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Skyler Talbot said they were only aware of one cryptocurrency ATM, located at Top Stop Chevron on the side of S.R. 224. They were unaware of plans to propose any bans. Snelson said no issues with the machine had been reported to the Police Department. 

Mohamed feels “terrible” that the cryptocurrency ATM was ever installed in Mountainland One Stop and is grateful for Heber City’s ban.

“It’s been the worst thing I’ve ever put in a business, and I’ve owned my own business for 22 years,” he said. “I would advise every city, every county and state to ban these.”

The post Heber City becomes second municipality in Utah to ban cryptocurrency ATMs appeared first on Park Record.

The Western Governors’ Association is scheduled to hold its annual meeting in Deer Valley this summer, a gathering that will bring a political crowd to Park City in the days before the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

The event is slated from June 30 to July 2 at the Stein Eriksen Lodge. Gov. Spencer Cox is the chair of the association, which involves states from the Great Plains westward. The Denver-based association said up to eight governors usually attend the annual meeting. The total attendance typically reaches between 300 and 400, including the gubernatorial delegations, federal officials, lobbyists and the entourages of presenters. The general public may purchase tickets.

An agenda and speaker lineup had not been finalized by the middle of the week. The association said Cabinet members are usually selected to deliver keynote addresses.

The event offers an opportunity for attendees to delve into a range of policies important to the West and the Midwest. Some of the topics expected to be addressed include agriculture, energy, healthcare and workforce issues.

“I’m excited to host WGA’s Annual Meeting in Park City this year. Beyond its natural beauty, Park City is a powerful example of how economic strength and environmental stewardship can go hand-in-hand. That balance will be reflected in many of the important policy discussions we’ll have at the meeting and is an ideal that I think we, as governors across the West, can help model for the rest of the country,” Cox said in a prepared statement to The Park Record.

A draft agenda posted by the association includes:

• Opening remarks by Cox and the executive director of the Western Governors’ Association midday on June 30.
• A July 1 session regarding policy and business, with Hawaii Gov. Josh Green being featured.

There is also a series of receptions, breakfasts and dinners on the agenda. Several panels covering unspecified topics were also listed.

The attendee list by the middle of the week included numerous corporate representatives and business groups. A representative from Park City Mountain owner Vail Resorts was listed. The Colorado-based firm has mountain resorts across the West.

Park City has hosted the association’s annual meeting three times, in 1995, 2009 and 2013.

The 2013 event, held during the Obama administration, included remarks by Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, an address by the late energy executive T. Boone Pickens and comments by Gary Herbert, who was the governor of Utah and the chair of the Western Governors’ Association at the time. Rob Bishop, then a U.S. congressman whose district included the Park City area, also appeared.

The organization, during the 2013 gathering, released a document that outlined a vision for energy production. Energy was an overriding subject that year, and the document called for the U.S. to move toward energy security, for the West to become a leader internationally in new energies and for infrastructure for energy distribution to be established.

The event this summer will likely add to the buzz in Park City that week. The gathering of governors is planned from Tuesday to Thursday. The event ends two days before Independence Day, usually a busy holiday in the community. This year’s Fourth of July celebrations in Park City could be especially jammed with 2026 being the 250-year mark for the nation.

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