Cops want your illegal fireworks

Kootenai County Sheriff’s deputies will patrol the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation the next couple of weeks, waiting to bust people leaving with carloads of fireworks that are illegal on non-tribal land.

Sheriff Rocky Watson said his deputies have yet to confiscate any fireworks this season, but he expects that will change soon.

“It doesn’t make vendors very happy with us,” Watson said of his department’s emphasis patrol. He said his office met with tribal leaders, though, and they weren’t opposed to the sheriff’s effort to crack down on illegal fireworks.

Signs are posted near the reservation boundaries warning that fireworks are illegal off the reservation.

This is the second year the department has made a concerted effort to keep the fireworks from entering Kootenai County. Despite the emphasis, Watson said, local authorities have not seen a decrease in the amount of fireworks complaints.

And the Indian Country Fireworks stand north of Worley has yet to notice a drop in its sales, even though deputies sometimes park nearby on the corner of Elder Road and U.S. Highway 95.

Many customers from throughout the Inland Northwest make an annual trek to the stand to buy hundreds of dollars of fireworks with names like “Mucho Grande,” “Burn Baby Burn” and “Danger Zone.”

LeAnn Marchand, a 20-year employee of Indian Country, said a drought two years ago had more of an impact on sales than the sheriff’s patrol did last year. Because this year has been wetter, Marchand said she expects people will feel more comfortable lighting off fireworks, and sales should be strong.

“I honestly believe fireworks are only as dangerous as the person lighting them,” Marchand said. “You don’t light them in the middle of a dry field.”

She said employees at the stand ask people where they plan to set off the fireworks, and tell them if it’s not a good location.

There are designated places on tribal land where people can light fireworks purchased on the reservation, she said. But Watson said only tribal members are allowed to set off fireworks on the reservation, and it’s illegal for non-tribal members to even possess the fireworks.

Violating the Idaho fireworks law, which allows only safe and sane fireworks, is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Watson said “safe and sane” fireworks don’t fly in the air or explode and generally can be purchased at stands and stores off the reservation.

Safe and sane fireworks are legal in three cities within Spokane County: Medical Lake, Deer Park and Airway Heights. No fireworks of any kind are allowed in Spokane or in unincorporated areas of Spokane County, said Spokane Fire Department assistant chief Brian Schaeffer.

This year, the Spokane Fire Department, working in cooperation with the Spokane Police Department, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, and Spokane Valley police and fire departments, will increase enforcement patrols for using fireworks in banned areas, Schaeffer said. The enforcement is planned throughout July. Fire investigators in Spokane can write criminal citations.

Most fines for fireworks violations are in the $500 range.

Spokane Valley Fire Marshal Kevin Miller said the department’s enforcement will focus on confiscation, education and citation. “Take them from you, tell you why they are dangerous and, if the situation warrants it, we will cite the person,” Miller said.

The Spokane Valley firefighters plan to focus on the Liberty Lake area on the Fourth of July, Miller said, because people often think fireworks are legal there.