Looking forward to a cooling trend from the record heat wave and having survived a challenging week of hundreds of wildfires sparked by lightning, state and local officials sent a strident message, loud and clear to those smuggling illegal fireworks into California and those would be celebrants who might plan to use these dangerous devices in the coming days. “We are here to tell the individuals who traffic illegal fireworks,” said Kate Dargan, California State Fire Marshal, “Consider this your first and only warning. We don’t care if you do it for fun or profit… We are determined to put a stop to it.” Reflecting back on what appears to be a growing trend in many communities throughout California, state and local fire and law enforcement agencies said the state continues to see a growing influx of illegal fireworks into California, by both organized, commercial operations as well as small, individual, criminal entrepreneurs. According to Dargan, Senate Bill 839, which became effective January 1, removed a number of legal, procedural and practical hurdles to enforcing illegal fireworks statutes in California. This legislation is only the latest in a series of coordinated efforts, between local and state fire agencies, CAL FIRE, the state-approved fireworks industry, and the 3,500 non-profit organizations who sell state approved fireworks every year, to battle the growing problem with illegal fireworks throughout the state. But the sale of legal fireworks is another issue all together. Governor Schwarzenegger last Friday urged all citizens not to buy or use fireworks for the upcoming July 4th weekend. "Don't go out and use fireworks this year…It's just too dry and too dangerous to do those things,” he said. This has caused an internal conflict amongst purveyors of fireworks, many of whom are non-profit organizations funded solely on money raised through those sales. Schwarzenegger said the fires statewide have now involved resources including 7,000 firefighters and 536 engines. He hopes Independence Day celebrations won’t exacerbate that problem.
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Looking forward to a cooling trend from the record heat wave and having survived a challenging week of hundreds of wildfires sparked by lightning, state and local officials sent a strident message, loud and clear to those smuggling illegal fireworks into California and those would be celebrants who might plan to use these dangerous devices in the coming days. “We are here to tell the individuals who traffic illegal fireworks,” said Kate Dargan, California State Fire Marshal, “Consider this your first and only warning. We don’t care if you do it for fun or profit… We are determined to put a stop to it.” Reflecting back on what appears to be a growing trend in many communities throughout California, state and local fire and law enforcement agencies said the state continues to see a growing influx of illegal fireworks into California, by both organized, commercial operations as well as small, individual, criminal entrepreneurs. According to Dargan, Senate Bill 839, which became effective January 1, removed a number of legal, procedural and practical hurdles to enforcing illegal fireworks statutes in California. This legislation is only the latest in a series of coordinated efforts, between local and state fire agencies, CAL FIRE, the state-approved fireworks industry, and the 3,500 non-profit organizations who sell state approved fireworks every year, to battle the growing problem with illegal fireworks throughout the state. But the sale of legal fireworks is another issue all together. Governor Schwarzenegger last Friday urged all citizens not to buy or use fireworks for the upcoming July 4th weekend. "Don't go out and use fireworks this year…It's just too dry and too dangerous to do those things,” he said. This has caused an internal conflict amongst purveyors of fireworks, many of whom are non-profit organizations funded solely on money raised through those sales. Schwarzenegger said the fires statewide have now involved resources including 7,000 firefighters and 536 engines. He hopes Independence Day celebrations won’t exacerbate that problem.
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