National Park Service Denies South Dakota Request for Mount Rushmore July 4 Fireworks

Fireworks explode above the Mount Rushmore National Monument during an Independence Day event attended by the US president in Keystone, South Dakota, July 3, 2020. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

The National Park Service has denied South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s request for fireworks at Mount Rushmore to mark the Fourth of July, citing the risk of sparking wildfires.

It marks the second consecutive year that the Republican governor has been turned down by the agency for a fireworks event at the national memorial.