It’s hot and dry on Whidbey Island, so unseasonably Hades-like that the Island County fire marshal issued a countywide burn ban.

But there’s one thing he can’t place an emergency ban on, no matter how extreme the weather: fireworks.

That’s left some officials in Island County frustrated with their inability to stop revelers from lighting explosive devices during one of the driest seasons on record.

Island County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution last week to “encourage all within our jurisdiction to limit the discharge of personal fireworks to reduce fire danger on our islands.”

The resolution has no more authority than a strongly-worded finger wag.

“It seems crazy (the fire marshal) can restrict every other kind of burning and not fireworks,” said Commissioner Helen Price Johnson.

She’s pushing for the county to add a clause to the books that would give the fire marshal the ability to call for an emergency ban on fireworks use.

“We aren’t going to be able to take action this year,” she said. “That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be able to get tools in place for the future.”

State law allows local city and county governments to completely ban fireworks within their jurisdictions or add a clause allowing emergency bans — but only with a year advanced notice.

The only person with the authority to issue a statewide temporary emergency ban on the firework sales and use is Gov. Jay Inslee, according the state Fire Marshal’s Office.

After consulting with the state Attorney General’s Office, the governor determined he doesn’t have the legal authority to initiate a statewide fireworks ban this year, said his spokeswoman, Jaime Smith.

The governor, however, is asking residents to use extra caution because of extremely dry conditions and to forgo the use of personal fireworks, she said.

The burn ban in Island County, which took effect Monday, prohibits all open fires. It’s OK to use charcoal and gas grills.

Rules for when fireworks can be used varies by whether you live in the city or the county.

In rural Island County, it’s now OK to use legal fireworks from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. until the holiday, and on July 5.

On the Fourth, fireworks may be used 9 a.m. until midnight. In Langley, revelers may use fireworks from 9 a.m. to midnight only on the Fourth.

Island County Sheriff Mark Brown serves as fire marshal for the county. He’s not sure this year if he would place an emergency ban on fireworks. He wouldn’t make that determination until consulting with all the fire chiefs in the county — the same protocol he uses before authorizing a burn ban.

“I think I would if I felt there were a real danger,” he said.

It makes sense to give the fire marshal that authority, he said. Brown would like to have the ability to tailor a ban by area since conditions may vary between the northern tip of Camano Island and the southern tip of Whidbey.

South Whidbey Fire/EMS Chief Rusty Palmer said that he, like many others, enjoys the spectacle of a booming firework but he also knows the dangers they present, especially in the dry conditions on Whidbey Island this week.

“Things are drier than in a lot of recent history,” he said Tuesday morning. “We’re weeks ahead, at least three weeks, of the normal drying period.”

“I love fireworks, but I wouldn’t use them myself this year because of the fire danger,” he added.

Don LaMontagne, a member of the Kiwanis of South Whidbey and the group’s fireworks chairman, said he understood the county’s position on requesting a halt to fireworks use this year. But he also said that the fireworks they sell are not part of the problem in Island County.

“I know Helen [Price Johnson] and respect her very much as a good friend,” LaMontagne said Tuesday morning. “She’s not opposed to fireworks. Her challenge is we have some individuals who are not buying fireworks from South Whidbey Kiwanis. The people who cause problems are people who buy fireworks from off the island and bring them over here … They go down to our beaches, have a little too much libations and make a general nuisance of themselves.”

Citing the origin of fireworks celebrations on July 4, LaMontagne said he didn’t want to disrespect the founding fathers.

“I’m not, for one, going to infringe upon my friend Benjamin Franklin,” he said.