Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Firework risks add edge to July Fourth celebrations

By Scott Maben and Chad Sokol The Spokesman-Review

If ever there was a year to be extra careful with fireworks, this is it, fire officials say. Extremely dry conditions and more hot days ahead have them nervously watching the approaching holiday.

“In well over 20 years it’s never been this dry,” said Jim Lyon, fire inspector with the Northern Lakes Fire District serving Rathdrum, Hayden and Twin Lakes.

“Right now we’re finding that any spark is almost guaranteed to ignite these dry grasses right now,” Lyon said.

Only fireworks stamped “safe and sane” are legal to sell in Idaho, but even those can start a wildfire.

“We’re seeing more fires, more frequent fires and larger fires because of the dry conditions,” said Glenn Lauper, deputy fire chief in Coeur d’Alene. “We just want people to be safe and enjoy the holiday. And we suggest that you go to the public displays that are out there.”

Gov. Jay Inslee has urged Washington residents to forego fireworks this year and celebrate Independence Day in other ways. Hot, dry weather has fueled well over 300 brush fires in the state so far this summer.

All fireworks are illegal most everywhere in Spokane County, where fire officials on Tuesday stressed that homes and lives are at risk. “Fireworks are not just harmless fun,” said Mike Miller, an assistant fire marshal at the Spokane Fire Department.

Discharging fireworks is illegal without a permit in Spokane, Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake, Cheney and Fairfield. In Millwood, fireworks are banned in all circumstances. Buying or selling fireworks is illegal in all those cities.

Fireworks also may not be discharged in unincorporated parts of Spokane County, or on private, state or federal forest land.

“Fireworks are prohibited from the woods, period,” said Guy Giffords, a spokesman for the Washington Department of Natural Resources. “It doesn’t matter what county you are in.”

The restrictions apply to all fireworks that require a source of ignition like a match or lighter, such as bottle rockets, firecrackers and floating paper lanterns. Poppers that are thrown on the ground are OK.

“If it has to be lit, it’s part of the ban,” Miller said.

Fireworks may be purchased and discharged in Airway Heights, Deer Park and Medical Lake during certain periods around the Fourth of July. But firefighters warn that fireworks users may be held financially responsible for any damaging fires they spark.

Since fireworks became illegal in Spokane in 1993, the annual number of related fires around the Fourth of July has decreased from 104 to five. In the same period, the number of fireworks-related injuries treated in local hospitals has decreased from 29 to five, according to the Spokane Fire Department.

Aerial fireworks and others that jump or spin outside a 15-foot diameter are prohibited in Idaho. And fireworks cannot be used on public property, including parks and beaches. That includes Tubbs Hill near downtown Coeur d’Alene, where city crews recently extinguished two human-caused fires.

Local fire inspectors visit every fireworks stand, test some of the products and pull anything that falls short of the “safe and sane” standards.

“I think we’ve pulled maybe a half-dozen products off the shelves this year,” said Lauper with the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department.

That included some new fireworks at a booth operated by Journey Ministries along U.S. 95 just north of Appleway Avenue in Coeur d’Alene. Proceeds benefit the youth group at the Hayden church.

Senior Pastor Troy Carpenter manned the booth Tuesday when business was a little slow. The busy days will be Friday and Saturday, he said.

Asked if customers seemed hesitant because of the fire danger, Carpenter said, “They’re not worried about it. They’re not, which is scary,” he said.

Lyon, with Northern Lakes Fire, cautioned people to be more vigilant and not allow children to handle fireworks without adult supervision. Sparklers can reach 1,800 degrees, he said – a dangerous thing in the hands of a young child.

“What do they do with them? They run around,” Lyon said. “They’re a very likely cause of grass fires right now.”

Bottle rockets are another big worry, he said, especially around juniper and other trees and shrubs that have a dry layer of duff underneath.

“We have this almost every year where a bottle rocket will go into one of those trees, and it’s almost an instantaneous ignition,” Lyon said.

He advises anyone using fireworks to keep to safe areas like paved driveways and gravel lots, and to keep a charged water hose at the ready.

“If they take a minute or two looking for a hose or nozzle, it could be the difference between getting it extinguished very quickly and igniting the home. It’s that fast right now,” he said.

Idaho restrictions on fireworks sales do not apply to Indian reservations, and many people load up on the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s reservation. By law those fireworks are not to be taken off reservation lands, but authorities know it happens a lot.

“We certainly see a lot of aerial fireworks that are not permitted in the state of Idaho,” Lauper said.

Kootenai County unfortunately attracts out-of-state crowds looking for spots to set off their stashes, Lyon said.

“If you go to the Idaho state line on the Fourth of July, it’s like everybody from Washington has come over with their illegal fireworks – even though they’re illegal in Idaho as well – and it’s almost like a war zone out on the prairie.”