I’m in L.A. (city proper), and, to the best of my knowledge, just about all fireworks are illegal here for individuals to possess and set off, although this doesn’t apply to the people who do it professionally as part of an organized event. Even the so-called safe and sane fireworks, like sparklers, pinwheels, and those fiery-fountain type things are illegal.
But you’d never have known it this year.
Driving back from a party in Anaheim, we passed through downtown L.A., and I noticed a number of fireworks, but thought little of it. Presumably they were just finishing up the show at the Coliseum. But it quickly became obvious that these fireworks were more than just the ones in the show, because they were visible all around us. And I don’t mean sparklers, or even firecrackers of whatever size. These were full-on skyrockets loaded with the pyrotechnic star charges; you know, the typical large spherical explosions you see in professional pyrotechnics.
Every year I see a few people waving sparklers, or setting off fountains in their front yards, but this is the first year I seen actual skyrockets and aerial charges apparently being set off by ordinary consumers. And it wasn’t just downtown; we live in Palms with south-facing windows, and we continued to see fireworks from our window for a good hour. They weren’t quite as elaborate as the ones we’d just seen downtown, but they were still an order of magnitude more impressive than any safe and sane fireworks we had had as kids.
While I agree with and always adhere to the local laws, given our dry climate, I don’t have a particular axe to grind about it, either. But I am curious if anyone else was in L.A. and noticed a vastly greater amount fireworks–particularly the ones that fly–being set off. Or, if you live in another city where they’re almost completely illegal, did you see a lot more fireworks this year?
Don’t know, since this is my first time in Chicago. Definitely a hell of a lot more than I’m used to in Peoria though. Presumably a combination of the closer proximity to Indiana (where said fireworks can be purchased) and the higher population.
The fireworks laws in NH are insane (it’s 100% legal for state residents to buy fireworks. But 85% of towns/cities have ordinances against using them. Here’s a small sampling of the inconsistency) but there are illegally used fireworks used in my town every year, and no one seems to incline to bust people. No more this year than last year, or the year before or…
However, it takes a special sort of moron to throw a lit firecracker out of the driver’s side of their car in broad daylight, so I’d like to salute the mouth breather who did so in front of me yesterday.
There was no option for “Fewer–in fact, almost none”
Our state is in the grip of a dangerous drought. Most city residents who set off fireworks (which are illegal inside the city limits) heeded the pleas of city and county officials to refrain from setting off fireworks this year.
The citizens complied with the request out of a sense of civic duty, of course. The fact that fire department officials were riding shotgun with cops over the weekend, ready to issue $1000 citations to violators and pressing (felony) arson charges against anyone whose fireworks ignited a structure or vegetation didn’t influence our citizens’ behavior in the slightest.
About normal, but if you didn’t notice, over the last ten years the mortar shell style fireworks have been a lot more popular at the local fireworks stand. I don’t remember ever seeing them as a kid. The biggest thing you could get was the large bottle rockets. Now, you can buy a 20 shot mortar and tube setup for fairly cheap and they are very impressive.
It was pretty much the same as usual. I noticed them a little more because I have a new next-door neighbor who was setting them off, though. Ohio bans the use of most fireworks, but not the sale. You just have to pinky-swear to take them out of the state within a couple days of purchase. (Yes, this works exactly as well you might think it does.)
My mother thought there were more fireworks being shot off this year. I didn’t.
And because the state government was tired of losing tax money for fireworks to neighboring states, this year they were all legal (so far as I know), whereas in the past, those that go up in the air were illicit.
Way more than I’m used to around here, but I have moved (only about 8 miles away) since my last July 4th. I hardly ever heard them in the poorer neighborhood I used to live in (single moms with more kids than they could afford crammed into small halves of duplexes, with lots of section 8), where people didn’t have much cash left over for flammable fripperies.
My new neighborhood, though, is pretty solidly middle- to upper-middle class, and my asshole neighbors were setting off very loud and expensive-sounding fireworks every single night starting halfway through June. I don’t know if recreational fireworks are still illegal in Illinois (I know they used to be, when I was a kid), but if they are then nobody was enforcing it. We’re pretty close to the Indiana border, and over there you can buy half-sticks of dynamite and strap them together into Peter Griffin’s Bunker-Bustin’ Mega Ultra Super BOOM specials.
Way more here in the Modesto area of central CA. I think people are ordering them online or something, because there were tons. It didn’t seem like anyone cared about the squads specifically out to confiscate their stuff and serve them with their $1000 fine either.
It’s so stupid here to set off illegal fireworks. It doesn’t rain here all summer long and we’re prone to wildfires as it is already.
About the same amount of illegal fireworks here as usual. However the town fireworks were put off for a day because of rain, but the illegal fireworks still went on as planned on the 4th. So my dog got a bonus night of being freaked out. Oh and then there was an encore presentation of illicit fireworks at 11:30 Tuesday night :mad:
Is it possible that the increase in Mexican residents in our city has lead to the use of more fireworks? Are fireworks more common in Latin America? Especially the stuff that is illegal here?
I’ve never heard as many apartment rattling explosions as I did this year.
