HomeMy WebLinkAboutE-mail from M Leavenworth- BC Fireworks Ban Stafford, Kathleen
From: theleavenworths@gmail.com
Sent: Thursday, July 07, 2016 12:44 PM
To: BOS District 4; Connelly, Bill; LWhal@ButteCounty.net; Kirk, Maureen; Teeter, Doug
Cc: Theleavenworths@att.net
Subject: ButteCounty Fireworks Ban
Honorable Supervisors of Butte County:
There are few traditions more inspiring of patriotic sentiment than 4th of July fireworks. In a letter
to Abigail Adams dated July 3rd, 1776, John Adams wrote, "with pomp and parade, with shows,
games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other
from this time forward forever more." The first commemorative 4th of July fireworks in
Philadelphia were recorded by the Pennsylvania evening post: "The evening was closed with the
ring of bells, and at night there was a grand exhibition of fireworks (which began and concluded
with 13 rockets) on the commons and the city was beautifully illuminated." By 1783, a large
variety of fireworks was available to the public.
Fireworks inspire adults with the history and promise of the American form of government and the
memories of children's joy are forever patriotically inspired by the magic and wonder of light and
sound for the birthday of the USA.
The first federal regulations on fireworks came after WWII, and were mostly concerned with
regulation of the explosive components of Interstate Commerce. In 1976, The newly created US
Consumer Product Safety Commission began to impose consumer-safety-based regulations. In the
mid 80's, the American Fireworks Standards Laboratory was established by fireworks importers to
meet and exceed US safety standards. By 2004, Safe and Sane products accounted for practically
100% of snakes, smoke devices, spinners and fountains (google California Fireworks Newswire).
The first fireworks ban for fire safety concerns was in Iowa in 1938, after a firework was blamed
for the destruction of downtown Spencer, Iowa. The town's one loan firetruck was not enough to
stop the fire. Iowa is expected to remove that ban this year, after a hurried law last year was
amended to address concerns.
In fact, fireworks bans across the nation have been increasingly lifted over the past decade, with a
geometrically increasing level of sales nationwide. Ironically, injuries and fires, especially fires
from safe and sane products, have been dramatically decreasing during that same time.
http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2015/06/29/heres-what-relaxed-firework-laws-are-
doing-for.html More and more jurisdictions are recognizing that fireworks have substantially
changed over the past decades.
The Butte County fireworks ban was passed 30 years ago on June 3, 1986, by the board of
supervisors at the height of consumer safety bans and after hearing CalFire testimony during an
intense season of forest fires. It has since come to light that the intensity of that fire season was
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never attributable to fireworks. In a 2012 article on page 184 of the journal of Ecological
Applications, the causes for that season were found to be lightning in conjunction with forestry
debris mis-management. Arson has also been found to be the cause of many forest fires since then,
including, unfortunately, arson by CalFire employees.
But there is no doubt that CalFire has a difficult job to do, especially if a fire starts in the forests on
the eastern side of the county. However, after speaking with two different CalFire employees
including a chief and the fire Prevention Officer, I learned that CalFire would actually welcome a
conditional lifting of the ban on fireworks. The opinion was that a visible permit displayed
conspicuously at the side of the street where fireworks were being used, in conjunction with safety
requirements as a condition of use, such as a minimum surface area of wet dirt or concrete, ready
water hose, vertical clearance, and a buffer zone free of dry or dead vegetation, would actually
make their job easier and the county safer.
Personally, I wouldn't want to recommend a complete lifting of the ban on fireworks, but a brightly
colored permit with safety requirements to be issued at the point of sale for fireworks use on private
property in areas west of highway 99 OR west of highway 70 AND south of highway 149. These
areas are miles clear of the updated CalFire California Fire Hazard Severity Zone Map, and the
highways afford an added buffer in case of grass fire. Other areas to the east would seem to be
more problematic and might require a different permit process, such as CalFire registry and
approval. http://frap.fire.ca.gov/webdata/maps/butte/fhszl_map.4.jpg
My intention is to read this letter during the public comment period of the upcoming board meeting
at the end of this month and I hope it will please the board to consider the proposal put forth or
something like it.
Sincerely,
Mark Leavenworth
(530)282-2212
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