SAN ANTONIO -- A Bexar County Commissioner hinted Tuesday that the county may issue a fireworks ban in the future to prevent a fiery situation like the one that occurred New Year's Eve.

The ban could come as early as the July 4th weekend if the need arose, Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez and his fellow commissioners found out Tuesday that 449 fire calls were made to 911 on New Year's Eve, a 469 percent increase from New Year's Eve 2006.

Many of the calls were duplicates, officials said.

The system was so overloaded with calls, people trying to reach 911 were getting busy signals.

“We’re going to look at adding additional capacity to the system so we can bring more calls in so they don’t get busy,” said Robert Adelman, director of the Bexar County Communications Center.

Fireworks combined with dry, windy conditions were blamed for the hundreds of fires which kept firefighters extremely busy on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

A point of contention between officials is the sale of fireworks during certain conditions.

“Maybe when these conditions are very dry and cause a severe danger, the judges can ban the sale of fireworks,” Fire Marshal Orlando Hernandez said.

But one county judge said a ban of fireworks usage would have to suffice.

"We cannot ban the sale of fireworks. But from what we're finding out right now, is the possibility of us having a declaration," said Precinct 1 Commissioner Sergio "Chico" Rodriguez.