Vendors in Indian Country shouldn’t complain about the Kootenai County sheriff’s crackdown on illegal fireworks – the emphasis here being on the word “illegal.” After all, the roadside businesses have the right to sell their Mad Bombers, Hyper Vipers and Predators to buyers who are legally limited to setting them off in only three places on the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation. The purchasers don’t have the right to take their noise makers off the reservation.

In chess, the situation in southern Kootenai County would be called “check” – the vendors are allowed to sell their wares but their movements are limited because cars aren’t stopping. Apparently, a deputy’s car occasionally parked near their stands deters sales.

Sheriffs Rocky Watson of Kootenai County and Chuck Reynalds of Shoshone County deserve credit for enforcing the law against the illegal fireworks.

Often, local law officers are compelled to choose between enforcing minor laws, such as fireworks bans, and maintaining peace and safety as summer takes hold in North Idaho resort areas. Some citizens would argue that deputies have better things to do than to discourage illegal fireworks use. But Sheriff Watson’s decision to carry out the ban shows he understands the problems that illegal fireworks cause: injuries, fires, unsettled pets and nuisance complaints.

City and county governments could help North Idaho law enforcement by going one step further and banning fireworks altogether.

The idea isn’t as radical as some red-white-and-blue patriots might think.

In 1992, Spokane launched its fireworks ban to the chagrin of amateur pyrotechnicians and wringing of hands by individuals who enjoy spending beaucoup dollars on an assortment of fiery dazzlers.

The result? In the years before the ban, according to an article in The Spokesman-Review, the Spokane Fire Department typically responded to 28 fireworks injuries during the week of July 4. That average fell to around five in the approximate decade after the ban. Before the ban, Spokane firefighters responded to an average of 123 fires caused by fountains, sparklers and other fireworks during the holiday week. Afterward, they averaged only five responses.

The effect of the Spokane ban has been so dramatic that Spokane emergency rooms have become quiet places on the Fourth of July.

On July 4, 2003, by contrast, Coeur d’Alene firefighters snuffed out a six-acre blaze believed set by fireworks only minutes before the 30,000 people leaving the annual city fireworks display began using the Interstate 90 interchange nearby. Public safety personnel were kept busy that night responding to 500 calls that largely had to do with illegal fireworks and noise disturbances.

Coeur d’Alene provides one of the region’s finest fireworks shows, a display that can be seen from all along the north shore of Lake Coeur d’Alene.

It’s a community celebration in honor of the glaring red rockets that paved the way for freedom in this country. Limiting Coeur d’Alene’s fireworks to the big show would dramatically reduce public safety calls and save someone’s fingers or property.