Even if Colorado is not dry enough this year to warrant a statewide ban on fireworks, people still need to take precautions this Independence Day.
Fireworks are a Fourth of July tradition, but so are wildfires, fireworks-related injuries and property damage.
The West Slope and other parts of the state have yet to recover from the recent drought, and when you add beetle kill and lightning, some areas are tinderboxes waiting to erupt. The last thing that needs to be added to that mix is fireworks. Fortunately, Summit and Eagle counties have issued bans on fires and fireworks.
The spring rain and wet snows that brought temporary relief to the Front Range unfortunately missed huge chunks of Colorado. And now the entire state seems to be caught in a heat wave, with sweltering temperatures around the 100-degree mark expected for the early part of this week.
Some cities, including Denver, prohibit the sale, possession or use of fireworks, but it doesn’t deter those bent on enjoying the rockets’ red glare. Fireworks stands have popped up in unincorporated county areas around Denver, and a 90-minute drive to the Wyoming line can net a mother-lode of fireworks that are illegal in Colorado.
So law enforcement throughout the state needs to be prepared to crack down on those already shooting off fireworks in some neighborhoods, where property damage and injury are always a possibility.
The Denver Fire Department reports that fireworks cause more fires in the City and County of Denver than all other causes of fires on that day combined. In 2003, a man playing with fireworks sent sparks into neighboring shrubbery and caused a southwest Denver apartment house fire that left many homeless.
Some 10,800 people ended up in emergency rooms nationwide last year with severe injuries due to fireworks. Denver Fire said the worst injuries were suffered by kids 10 to 14 years of age. That’s good enough reason to step up enforcement.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission says that while some fireworks comply with regulations, all fireworks are hazardous and can cause injury.
Even sparklers, considered by many the ideal “safe” firework for the young, burn at temperatures of about 2,000 degrees – hot enough to melt some metals. They cause more injuries to children under 5 than any other type of fireworks, the commission says. Sparklers, along with smoke bombs, tend to be allowed in unincorporated metro areas.
After the 2002 record wildfire season, Colorado lawmakers passed a law allowing county commissioners to ban fireworks sales during high fire danger. Last year, fire danger was so high that Arapahoe, Jefferson and other counties banned the sale and use of fireworks. This year hasn’t prompted a similar ban.
So let’s celebrate our nation’s birthday on the Fourth of July, but remember to do so safely.
