For many Americans, the Fourth of July provides an annual opportunity to set off Chinese pyrotechnics as a booming symbol of our nation's birth.
Setting aside the obvious irony here, we understand that it's fun to blow stuff up, as long as one essential item is taken into account: safety.
Sure, the word doesn't exactly light the fuse on excitement, but a little caution can go a long way toward making sure this Fourth isn't the one looked back on as the time Uncle Jim set the house ablaze with a bottle rocket or Timmy lost his eye to a Roman Candle.
Most law-abiding residents of this area don't have to worry about this kind of thing. For 18 years now Spokane County has completely banned fireworks in Cheney, Spokane, Spokane Valley, Millwood, Liberty Lake and unincorporated areas, and firecrackers, bottle rockets and missiles have been illegal throughout Washington for more than 60 years.
The only two Spokane County municipalities now allowing residents the liberty to detonate “safe and sane” fireworks are Airway Heights and Medical Lake.
Before anyone starts ranting about how the government is steadily stripping citizens of personal freedoms (“and on the Fourth of July, of all holidays!”) consider this: About 8,000 fireworks-related injuries requiring emergency room care or hospitalization occur in the U.S. each year over the July Fourth period, most involving devices that are legal under current federal law. Last year there were 1,236 fireworks-related incidents in Washington resulting in more than $5.6 million in property loss.
Fireworks-caused injuries in Spokane County, however, dropped from 290 in the 10 years prior to the ban to 37 in the 10 years after the ban, according to a Spokane County press release.
Fireworks-related fires in the city of Spokane dropped from 1,044 to just 46 in the same period. As we're sure you've heard by now, it's looking like a pretty sketchy fire season this year due to lots of spring rain and, therefore, lots of fuel on the ground. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources reports that since January at least 54 fires have already been suppressed, some pretty close to our neck of the state. Last week a 42-acre brushfire broke out near Othello and early this week a wildfire threatened homes south of Ephrata.
There are typically only two reasons for wildfires on private and state-owned lands – dry lightning strikes and people, according to the DNR. While nothing can be done to prevent lightning, we can all do our part to lessen the latter cause, especially this time of year.
Instead of risking an accident, as well as fines or charges based on fireworks-caused damages, folks can head down to watch the professional display at Spokane's Riverfront Park, beginning at 10 p.m.
For residents of those cities that do allow fireworks within city limits, we urge you to remember that the privilege to blow stuff up this weekend isn't an inalienable right (see the Declaration of Independence, page 5) and that any use of fireworks should be practiced with a degree of caution and courtesy.
Use common sense when deciding where to light explosives, don't set off illegal fireworks and clean up the mess July 5. Otherwise your city governments might follow suit with the rest of the county and decide it just isn't worth it to allow you this liberty.
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