Abruptly barring things that go boom would be unfair for sellers, safe users

By JEFF JARDINE

E-Mail

Comments (0)

Text Size:

tool goes here

Whenever something major happens, there's always a ripple effect that leaves citizens demanding new laws and politicians seizing sound-bite time.

The outcry over fireworks is a prime example. When the state's air turned dramatically worse than usual because of the recent wildfires, Gov. Schwarzenegger urged people not to buy fireworks and for some counties to consider prohibiting them.

"I do not plan to order a statewide ban of fireworks, but I do encourage fire-affected counties to take a good look at their resources and take the appropriate steps at the local level, including a fireworks ban if necessary," he said in a statement issued June 27.

CLICK FOR MORE PHOTOS

Firefighters easily could live without having to extinguish blazes such as the one caused by a 17-year-old moron who, by making a minor alteration, turned a Piccolo Pete into a flaming Scud missile that torched a neighbor's rooftop in Modesto on Tuesday.

Recent letters to the editor in The Bee have been dominated by the anti-fireworks crowd, some of whom have respiratory ailments. Ask asthmatics about the joys of inhaling the thick sulfur smoke that will permeate their neighborhoods come Friday night.

And earlier this week, Modesto's Neighborhood Preservation Unit joined the party when its code enforcement officers did a sweep of the numerous fireworks stands, along with other businesses, on McHenry Avenue. Their target was illegal signs -- not Roman candles.

"There were safety concerns where (signs) blocked the drivers' view," said Barbara Kauss, acting deputy director of the city's Parks, Recreation and Neighborhoods Department, which oversees the anti-blight unit. "We confiscated over 100 signs from 40 to 50 businesses."

The caveat: The city gave the vendors 10 days to correct the problem, which is like looking the other way because the groups will quit selling the fireworks long before the grace period ends.

Bone-dry Tuolumne County prohibits fireworks, which makes total sense. Like most other mountain counties, Tuolumne is one lightning strike or stupid fireworks moment away from becoming a monstrous tiki torch.

Nor can they be sold in much of San Joaquin County, which is why you'll see a fireworks stand along Highway 132 at Vernalis, only about 40 feet inside the Stanislaus County line.

Here, though, the so-called Safe and Sane fireworks have been a Fourth of July fixture for years. These aren't rockets with real red glare, like those handled by the Gruccis or other pyrotechnic professionals. They aren't anything like those that light up the sky over Woodward Reservoir or John Thurman Field.

We're certainly not talking about the 30-minute, neck-craning show I witnessed in Las Vegas in 1989, when Sugar Ray Leonard and Robert Duran met at the Mirage. The fighters had to wait 20 minutes for the smoke to clear before entering the outdoor arena.

We're talking about the street-legal fireworks that shoot sparks more than 10 feet high only when ignited atop a 6-foot ladder. We're talking about firecrackers, sparklers and those little "snakes" that leave behind a residue that resembles dog droppings.

We're talking spark-belching fountains that emit an annoying, screeching sound equal to fingernails clawing a blackboard.

Drive through many neighborhoods Friday night, and you'll see families out together enjoying barbecues and pooling their fireworks stashes. The overwhelming majority of these gatherings will come off without incident or injury.

Like virtually everything else, though, a few idiots can wreck it for everyone. They'll launch illegal skyrockets brought in from another state or country. Or, like the teen in Modesto, they'll alter the legal stuff to make it more potent and less controllable.