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Several States Mandate a Fourth Without Fireworks
July 02, 2008 8:02 AM
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Drought, wildfires, and a shortage of supplies bring a halt to many fireworks displays this Fourth of July.
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Due to an ongoing drought in the southeast and wildfires that have ripped through California and Florida, many states have imposed bans on setting off fireworks this Fourth of July.
“What goes up—like fireworks—must come down, and authorities can’t take a chance that that will be in tinder-dry forests or brushlands,” MSNBC reports.
Texas has enforced a $500 fine for setting off fireworks this season and several states, including North Carolina, Oregon, and Utah, have followed suit by declaring their own bans.
Everyone is feeling the effects, from local communities to city officials who orchestrate grand annual displays to rake in holiday profits.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger urged residents not to use fireworks after an unusually high number of wildfires ravaged the state, but he left local jurisdictions to implement their own restrictions. Many Californians aren’t willing to give up the tradition and continue to stock up on sparklers and firecrackers, saying that a ban would be “imposing on our freedoms.”
Weather conditions aren’t the only factor to blame for a lack of explosive festivities this year. In February 2008, Yuetong Fireworks in South China, which produces about 90 percent of the U.S. supply, suffered a massive explosion that destroyed 20 warehouses. The company has halted most of its exports, leaving U.S. sellers with limited supplies and prices that have, well, sky-rocketed.
Even if your town enforces a ban, there are plenty of ways to enjoy the holiday without fireworks. One California newspaper suggests activities that don’t revolve around pyrotechnics.
“What goes up—like fireworks—must come down, and authorities can’t take a chance that that will be in tinder-dry forests or brushlands,” MSNBC reports.
Texas has enforced a $500 fine for setting off fireworks this season and several states, including North Carolina, Oregon, and Utah, have followed suit by declaring their own bans.
Everyone is feeling the effects, from local communities to city officials who orchestrate grand annual displays to rake in holiday profits.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger urged residents not to use fireworks after an unusually high number of wildfires ravaged the state, but he left local jurisdictions to implement their own restrictions. Many Californians aren’t willing to give up the tradition and continue to stock up on sparklers and firecrackers, saying that a ban would be “imposing on our freedoms.”
Weather conditions aren’t the only factor to blame for a lack of explosive festivities this year. In February 2008, Yuetong Fireworks in South China, which produces about 90 percent of the U.S. supply, suffered a massive explosion that destroyed 20 warehouses. The company has halted most of its exports, leaving U.S. sellers with limited supplies and prices that have, well, sky-rocketed.
Even if your town enforces a ban, there are plenty of ways to enjoy the holiday without fireworks. One California newspaper suggests activities that don’t revolve around pyrotechnics.
Headline Link: ‘Rockets’ red glare to dim this July 4’
Jessica Gardetto, spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Land Management, points out, “Something benign as a sparkler ... can send sparks off into the grass. All it takes is a breeze, and then you’ve got a wildfire.” But small communities that depend on fireworks sales for revenue are feeling the effects of the bans and shortages. Tim Jacobson, president of Garden Grove’s Little League in California, says, “Everything we do, from the scoreboards to the fences, it’s all from fireworks money.”
Source: MSNBC
Background: Fires, droughts, and an explosion
Wildfires have been devastating California’s landscape this year, ruining thousands of acres of forest in Santa Cruz, Sierra Madre, and Big Sur. The state has had more than 1,400 fires in recent months, many of which are still burning and are expected to last until October given the area’s hot, dry climate. In May, firefighters struggled to contain flames that swept across Florida in Palm Bay and Malabar. Earlier in 2008, wildfires also flared up in central Virginia and the Carolinas.
Source: CBS News
Severe drought, dragging into its second year, continues to plague the Southeastern United States. Atlanta, Ga., and Raleigh, N.C., have been hit particularly hard as recent population growth has strained water supplies. A combination of dry conditions and low reservoirs has also led California to declare its first statewide drought since 1991.
Source: USA Today
Before the sun rose over Sanshui in China’s Guangdong Provence on February 14, 2008, an explosion of flames, fireworks, and broken glass shook the town. The blasts, likely caused by weather conditions or arson, destroyed twenty factories of the Yuetong Warehouse and Transport Company, which supplies 90 percent of the fireworks sold in the United States. Locals thought that an earthquake had hit the region when they felt the explosion, and seismology expert Lian Gan later confirmed that the event “produced the energy equivalent to a 1.1 degree tremor on the Richter scale.”
Source: NewsGD.com
Opinion & Analysis: The right to light up
After being urged to skip fireworks this holiday, “Californians answered back to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s plea as if it had been made by a girlie man, not a governator,” the Sacramento Bee reports. Residents continued to purchase the sparklers as usual, however, because “while fireworks aren’t specifically mentioned in the Bill of Rights, many people put them up there with free speech and fast food as things that would be un-American to do without.”
Source: sacbee.com
References: Safety tips and substitutes
Never relight a “dud” firework; wait 20 minutes, then soak it in a bucket of water, advises The national Council on Fireworks Safety. Learn similar tips on how to use fireworks properly and avoid injury in this NCFS video.
Source: National Council on Fireworks Safety
You don’t have to play with fire to have fun on the Fourth of July. California’s Merced Sun Star offers alternatives to the traditional fireworks, including hosting a “Yankee Doodle Movie Marathon” or “Water-loo Balloon Battle.”
Source: Merced Sun Star
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