FROM 2018
Tag: fireworks
FIREWORKS: Just say no
Speaking of fireworks safety over the Independence Day holiday, James Duff with the City of Orinda, California tipped us off earlier this month to this outstanding little 2021 PSA from Lubbock, Texas. We are entertaining nominations for award-winning fireworks messaging, and there is a prize involved, so please nominate your “July 4th Hot PSA” from a fire agency, government agency, or NGO related to fireworks use and fire safety.
Write at least one sentence about who it is and where it is, add the link, and post it in the comments below.
Meanwhile, enjoy this little gem from Texas.
Apple Valley, California is serious about fireworks
Author Kelly AnderssonPosted on Categories Prevention3 Comments on Apple Valley, California is serious about fireworks
About 90 miles northeast of Los Angeles in southern California, the Apple Valley Fire Protection District is educating residents about illegal fireworks, fire danger, and the need for defensible space around structures.
Fire Chief Buddy Peratt said the fuel load of dry vegetation this year increases the risk of wildland fires, particularly those started by fireworks.
In Apple Valley all fireworks are illegal
“It’s important that people understand that all fireworks, including those classified as ‘safe and sane,’ are illegal in Apple Valley,” Fire Inspector Jennifer Alexy told the Victorville Daily Press.
She said information about illegal fireworks is important for all residents, especially those who’ve recently moved to Apple Valley. “Sometimes people move here from down the hill or other areas, and they don’t realize that fireworks are illegal,” Alexy said. “They start using fireworks, unaware of the potential danger.”
How citations are issued: The Apple Valley Fire Protection District uses a “contactless citation process” in which citations are delivered by district personnel directly to the offender in person or by mail. An administrative citation is $1,000. If a fire official has proof of a renter’s possession or use of fireworks, the district can also cite the property owner.
“We’ll gather the information and send the owner a citation via certified mail,” said Alexy. “We’ll make sure owners are responsible for their tenants.”
QR code to report fireworks: Apple Valley Fire uses a QR code to report the possession, sale, or use of fireworks in town. “If someone calls our office to report fireworks during the weekend,” says Alexy, “we may not get the message until Monday morning. The QR code allows us to get the information right away.”
Every year using fireworks causes numerous injuries, some severe, requiring emergency medical attention. Burns, eye injuries, and other medical traumas are common and often have long-lasting or permanent results.
Fireworks are literally explosively loud, panicking pets and many veterans, and can mean trauma for people with with sensory issues. The debris and chemicals left over from fireworks can harm the environment, pollute the air, and leave behind hazardous waste.
Back in 2000 at least 10 fires were started on and around Mt. Rushmore during fireworks displays. Perchlorate, which is now in the water at the national park after numerous fireworks shows held there, has been linked to fetal and infant brain damage — 11 fireworks shows between 1998 and 2009 contaminated the water at the memorial. The fireworks explosions left perchlorate on the ground, and it worked its way into the water table. In 2016 a USGS report showed that a maximum perchlorate concentration of 54 micrograms per liter was measured in stream samples at Mt. Rushmore between 2011 and 2015 — about 270 times higher than in samples collected from sites outside the memorial.
Wildfires: During those 11 shows at least 20 documented wildfires were ignited by fireworks in the middle of the wildfire season.
Garbage: The trash dropped by the exploding shells onto the National Monument and the forest can never be completely picked up. Left on the ground are unexploded shells, wadding, plastic, ash, pieces of the devices, and paper — that can never be totally removed from the very steep, rocky, rugged terrain.
NOTE: Bill Gabbert, who founded this website and ran it for many years, was the fire management officer at the Mt. Rushmore site during some of that time.
Tuesday is July 4th
Wildfire at Centerville, Utah prompts evacuations
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Wildfire8 Comments on Wildfire at Centerville, Utah prompts evacuations The police reported that fireworks is the most likely cause, but it is under investigation
Updated at 5:03 p.m. MDT July 4, 2022
The Deuel Creek Fire in the foothills east of Centerville, Utah was mapped Monday at 128 acres. Firefighting resources assigned include multiple helicopters and 7 engines for a total of 80 personnel; an additional 3 hand crews are en route.
Monday afternoon the fire was less active than it was during the night, but still has potential for growth with the strong winds and low humidity. The fire is between Deuel Creek and Parrish Creek.
12:51 p.m. MDT July 4, 2022
A fire that was reported around midnight Sunday night resulted in the evacuation of about 89 homes on the east side of Centerville, Utah. It started near Center Street and Firebreak Road north of Bountiful. The evacuations were later lifted.
Fire authorities estimate it has burned approximately 100 acres, mostly on a steep slope 10 miles north of Salt Lake City.
“All indications are that this fire was human caused, the most likely source being fireworks,” wrote the Centerville Police Department on Twitter at 5:50 a.m. Monday. “We will be working with fire investigators to determine the cause.”
Much of Western Utah, including the greater Salt Lake City Area, has been under a Red Flag Warning Sunday and Monday for single-digit humidity and strong winds.
A Type 3 Incident Management Team will assume command of the fire Monday morning.
Regarding the tweet below, Spencer J. Cox is the governor of Utah.
This barbecue in Centerville might be a fun one to show up to, since nothing was done about fireworks in the state in the middle of a drought. pic.twitter.com/QHhAHvcJt1
— Kip Hackman (@ndy_Dwyer) July 4, 2022
Park Service denies request for July 4 fireworks at Mount Rushmore
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized12 Comments on Park Service denies request for July 4 fireworks at Mount Rushmore “Potential risks to the park itself and to the health and safety of employees and visitors associated with the fireworks demonstration continue to be a concern and are still being evaluated as a result of the 2020 event,” said the National Park Service.
The National Park Service has denied a request from the State of South Dakota to hold a July 4 fireworks display at Mount Rushmore this year.
Last year under pressure from South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and former President Trump, fireworks were shot from the heads of the four presidents on the sculpture for the first time since 2009. In the interim they had been banned for having started 27 fires, left carcinogens in the water, and the trash dropped by the exploding shells onto the Monument and the forest can never be completely picked up. Fireworks were exploded over the sculpture and the Ponderosa pine forest 11 times between 1998 and 2009.
NPS Regional Director Herbert Frost wrote in a letter to the head of the state’s tourism department, first reported by The Hill Friday, that the NPS is “unable to grant a request to have fireworks at the Memorial.”
“Potential risks to the park itself and to the health and safety of employees and visitors associated with the fireworks demonstration continue to be a concern and are still being evaluated as a result of the 2020 event,” Frost wrote. “In addition, the park’s many tribal partners expressly oppose fireworks at the Memorial.”
“These factors, compiled with the COVID-19 pandemic, do not allow a safe and responsible fireworks display to be held at this site,” he added.
Frost noted that although progress is being made in fighting the pandemic, the situation is still “dynamic” and said it is “only prudent to make plans based on the best available science and public health guidance available today.”
In a joint statement, three members of Congress, Representative Dusty Johnson, Senator John Thune, and Senator Mike Rounds said,
Let’s be clear, this decision is political, not evidence-based. President Biden just said himself that Americans can safely gather by July 4 – what’s changed in a day? Last year millions watched the celebration in awe, and it’s a shame the administration is denying Americans that opportunity this year.
On March 11 in his address to the nation President Biden said,
Because here’s the point, if we do all this, if we do our part, if we do this together, by July the 4th, there’s a good chance you, your families and friends will be able to get together in your backyard or your neighborhood and have a cookout and a barbecue and celebrate Independence Day. That doesn’t mean large events with lots of people together, but it does mean small groups will be able to get together.
According to Johns Hopkins University, of all the U.S. states, as of March 14, 2021 South Dakota has the third-highest number of positive COVID-19 cases per capita, and the sixth-lowest rate of testing per capita. The state has never implemented a mask mandate.
From Forbes, March 13, 2021:
Four days before the fireworks celebration in 2020, a local wildfire update reported that multiple fires had affected nearly 16,000 acres in the Black Hills, near Mount Rushmore. But wildfire experts’ objections to the 2020 celebration went unheeded.
“Burning debris, the burning embers and unexploded shells fall into a ponderosa pine forest and ponderosa pine is extremely flammable,” Bill Gabbert, former fire management officer for Mount Rushmore, told the Argus Leader last year. “Shooting fireworks over a ponderosa pine forest, or any flammable vegetation, is ill advised and should not be done. Period.”
In a break from what had been the standard practice for decades, when the Mine Draw Fire broke out six miles from Mount Rushmore just days before the fireworks were exploded in 2020, Governor Kristi Noem’s office took control of all official information about the fire, shutting down the fire professionals who had always provided information to the public and the media as part of their regular jobs.
