Citing the potential for wildfires, the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee has taken action to close the fireworks season on the reservation for the summer. Tribal officials say the closure is effective immediately based on the “very high” fire danger report issued recently by the National Fire Danger Rating System.

The system provides a value that is determined by a set of computer programs and algorithms that allows land management agencies to estimate current and future fire danger for a given rating area.

Calculations are based on fuels, topography, and weather, which is commonly known as the fire triangle. The output given by the rating system gives relative ratings of the potential growth and behavior for any wildfire in the system. The “very high” rating means fires could start easily, increase quickly in intensity and spread rapidly into heavier fuels. Tribal officials also pointed to the recent wildfire that threatened the tribe’s casino and other businesses east of Lewiston last week as reasons for the firework season closure.