Over 1,500 complaints regarding pyrotechnics were filed with Sacramento County in the previous year. There is currently a renewed effort to halt the importation of illicit fireworks into California at the border.
Last year, Sacramento Metro Fire responded to 48 fires caused by pyrotechnics in the five days leading up to and following July 4th—a 60% increase from the year before.
Ten others injured by fireworks were also assisted by them.
“Burn-related injuries, extremity injuries, you name it, and it’s a challenge because a lot of these are preventable,” Metro Fire Battalion Chief Parker Wilbourn stated.
According to authorities, the amount of illicit fireworks being utilized in California keeps rising.
The selling of any fireworks that burst or shoot into the air is prohibited in California. However, Nevada does not have a restriction on those kinds of fireworks, and you can purchase them from a number of retail establishments.
“The California residents who are going to those stores and buying the product are bringing it back to California,” Dennis Revell, a TNT Fireworks spokesperson stated.
According to Revell, state and federal officials are not doing much to halt the flow of illegal goods.
“When they’ve been brought back into California, they’ve been used recklessly, irresponsibly,” he continued.
Hundreds of tons of illicit pyrotechnics are seized annually; last week, 8,000 pounds of them were discovered in a home in south Sacramento.
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He is in favor of the two states coming to an interstate agreement to work together on enforcement.
This agreement would alert law enforcement in California whenever a Californian makes a purchase, in addition to the Nevada requirements that stores scan customers’ driver’s licenses.
“In terms of curing the problem, that will only happen when and if we can impact the supply chain and keep the product from ever coming into the state in the first place,” Revell stated.
This year, many towns have toughened their punishments for anyone found using illegal pyrotechnics, and Sacramento County has outlawed the use of any kind of fireworks after 10 p.m.
