fireworks vendors are feeling a lot of backlash because of the high fire danger. so tonight we asked a vendor why they're choosing to stay open and what challenges they're facing this year. eddie garcia just got back from socorro county and is here with some answers. road runner fireworks was more than happy to face our tough questions head on - they say for them selling fireworks despite the drought is a matter of survival. honestly it makes me feel nauseated. i mean i watched the news last night and i almost felt like crying. outdoor enthusiast wendy meek says she grieves for the destruction wildfires are wreaking throughout new mexico. it's a feeling at conflict with her day job as a firework vendor with tents in socorro county and peralta. she's been feeling the heat to shut down all season. it's not as easy for vendors to close down because they've already invested aot of money and they have employees that they have hired and started to pay. she says considering all that's at stake - it's too late to close. so we asked her, with these dangerously dry conditions, why she insists on staying open. if i shut this down today i would have to fire all of the people, i would lose $ 30,000 it wouldn't be good for the state in the sense that everything we make taxes are paid and it goes to each individual county, so the counties would lose money. meeks understands the damage fire fighters can cause and reminds her customers of that. absolutely i am for safety when i sell to my people because new mexico is a beautiful land and i don't want it destroyed by irresponsibility. but she admits, there's no way to control what they do with fireworks. meek told me that fireworks not sold this 4th of july will be stored for the new year. either way they're stuck with the surplus and cannot sell it back. she's donating 25 percent of profits to local firefighters.
