I like fireworks and I like hearing neighbors having fun (on special occasions, not all the time!). I understand that it disturbs some people and animals. If it’s only on dates like July 4 then people should just shut their windows and wait until it’s over with. Especially since Juoly 4 is a predictable date. But in a wildfire area, I agree that it’s irresponsible.
I am very happy and relieved to report that fireworks here in the wilds of Oregon were a non-event, at least within my – and more importantly, my dog’s – hearing. There were incidents, but none near me. It was almost eerily quiet. Phew!
It’s definitely a transgressive act if you are setting off fireworks close to an airport, and under a flight path.
For those unaware, Chicago’s Midway Airport is located in a neighborhood on the southwest side of the city, and there are homes and businesses directly surrounding the airport property. I heard a radio story about the incident this morning, and the flight crew of the Delta airliner reported that they were at an altitude of about 200 feet, about to land, when they were hit by a firework.
About a half dozen fires started in LA County by fireworks last nite. I think one was started by a legal big boom fireworks display- at least the timing is right.
Back to my criteria for transgressive upthread - last night passed, at least if I grade on a curve based on previous years. There were fireworks being launched in the neighborhood (which flat out was banned due to fire hazards), but it was sparse, individual pops and cracks, and none of the literal window-rattling booms of the past. It was mostly confined to 8pm-12am (maybe a dozen local bangs an hour) but there were maybe half that from 12-1am which I find too late, even for a weekend.
So people in my general area were still taking stupid risks given how dry we are, and inconsiderate (or drunk) but compared to past years… like I said, they pass due to the curve.
We had some non-pro fireworks audibly going off here and there until about 1130pm. Then I went to sleep and whatever noise they may have been making later wasn’t enough to wake me up.
I was awake a 5:30 in the morning when I was surprised by the distant boom of a firework or three. And another about 20 minutes later. Far enough from me to not be disturbing, just surprising. I don’t remember pre-dawn 5th of July fireworks before.
As today has worn on I’ve heard nothing. Pretty calm year, calmer than past years.
My little rural comunity has had major explosions for the last 3 nights. People shooting Tannerite which is an explosive when you shoot it with a gun. Lots of gun fire and explosives until 1:00 am.
The only place I’ve seen a pre-dawn (professional) show was in Punxsutawney (early on Feb 2nd); very cool just for the uniqueness of it; to celebrate before they prognosticator of prognosticators, the seer of seers gave his winter weather forecast.
My neighborhood usually sounds something like a war zone but things were noticeably calmer this year. I read an article that said police were using drones for enforcement and also soliciting public reports on problem areas, so that may have something to do with it. Whatever the reason I’m pleased with the results. I don’t have a problem with publicly sanctioned displays, it’s the yahoos who set off illegal industrial-strength fireworks in the street and parking lots until 1AM that I have a problem with.
Some of my neighbors commented that 1) much fewer local fireworks than prior years, and 2) lots less ostentatious displays of bunting, flags, etc., than prior years.
Maybe one hell of a lot of people are fed up with jingoistic know-nothing politics and are quietly registering their disgust by tuning out of the 4th this year.
OTOH, going to dinner tonight (the 5th) I drove with the top down about 10 miles across suburbia each way. Near dark on the way out and fully dark on the way back. A steady gentle chorus of pops and booms accompanied me all along. Plus the occasional bursting skyrocket sizzle close enough to hear.
I heard the occasional loud “crack” from what I presume were illegal fireworks from late July 3 to early July 5, two emergency vehicle sirens, and the repeated “boom” of the big professional fireworks.
Despite what I wrote above, we didn’t actually have any significant fireworks going off in my neighborhood until last night (the 4th). They started up around 8:30, which was twilight, but not fully dark, but also was when thunderstorms finally moved out of the area, and kept going well past midnight, until sometime after 1am.
They started up again here tonight, at about the same time again, and now, at a bit after 10pm, it’s still pretty much constant.
It was quieter in my neighborhood this year, as well. 240 years was a good run.
A bit quiet in Santa Barbara, I missed the city ones as they were very short, due to negative budget.. I was preoccupied with some podcast. I usually hear them from 5 miles away. Local random stuff around, until about 11 pm
My sister in Nevada City said no gunfire this year for the first time. Other sister in Eugene Ore said it was pretty noisy, large booms till midnight.
Well, we had fewer fireworks than normal this year, but some are still being shot off as I type. My neighbors didn’t go all-out, and I only saw a few that went high enough over the trees for me to see them.
But the celebratory gunfire was way down compared to a normal year. I only heard two instances that I could clearly discern as gunfire, and none were fully automatic. Apparently the DPD announcing that they were going to concentrate on controlling it had an effect. Let’s see if they can pull off the same trick on Dec 31st. 
I have no idea what these things cost, but there’ve been stories in the news lately about the “K-shaped economy.”
I genuinely wonder if people consciously cut back or didn’t bother this year.
If you even quickly tally up the cost of your bog standard “barbecue” for a dozen or so friends and family, I suspect we’ve seen significant price hikes.
In the Grand Strand area of South Carolina they are in the 2nd worse drought in 132 years but the surrounding neighborhoods have been healthy supporting the fireworks stores at what appears to me at a record pace! When discussing the potential for a disaster seeing that most of the homes built in area over the last 10 years are on a tight .17 acres, the overwhelming response my questioning is it’s south and a free country and maybe I should spend more time in Nj ! What I don’t understand is that with a minimum wage of 7.25 per where do these folks find it in there budgets to buy these lengthy displays ?
I’ve wondered the same thing in many cases.
A few days ago the 20yo college girl waiting my table mentioned that her BF had bought $1000 of fireworks to blow off on the 4th. As college kids go I was well off back in the day. I sure didn’t have $1K to blow on fireworks. Hell, I would not spend that now.
Then again, the CPI calculator tells me that $1K now was the same as $200 in 1978 when I was 20. I didn’t spend $200 on fireworks then, but I can think of several stupid things I bought for broadly similar money over my college career.
They terrify my dogs, but I get it.
Any time before midnight on the 4th (it is on a Saturday this year), seems appropriate.
All hours of night for a week on either side, does absolutely get on my nerves.
And as I write this, they are going off in the distance - it is the 6th
You want late night fireworks? The official Philadelphia show happened at 2:30 am after a weather delay. There are a number of high-rise apartments / condos in the immediate vicinity. Now I know once they’re in the tubes the safest way to get them out us to fire them off but how many few people were still there to see them vs. sleeping neighbors?