Some Bay Area communities allow using so-called “safe and sane” fireworks reminiscent of handheld sparklers across the Fourth of July, although most municipalities prohibit anything apart from skilled, licensed shows. The devices are offered as an alternative choice to illegal fireworks that explode within the air or move along the bottom.
“They may be legal, but they are not safe,” Contra Costa Fire Inspector Matt Larson said at a news conference late last week. “Any one of these fireworks – including sparklers and small firecrackers – can start a fire. Any one of them can seriously injure you. Nothing is 'safe and reasonable.'”
Firefighters spoke in regards to the dangers of fireworks of every kind ahead of the upcoming Fourth of July. With temperatures expected to soar this week just before the vacation, any fire danger may be very high, based on Chelsea Burkett, a spokeswoman for the Cal Fire Santa Clara Unit.
“The use of fireworks of any kind, whether safe and sensible or illegal, greatly increases the likelihood of a fire and can significantly spread it, especially with the dry vegetation and wind we are currently experiencing,” Burkett said.
The incontrovertible fact that the vacation falls on a Thursday, thus avoiding a three-day weekend, may help curb using illegal fireworks, but nothing can stop it, said Lewis Broschard, chief of the Contra Costa Fire Department, who called the night of seemingly never-ending explosions “my least favorite holiday.”
The forecast high temperatures can even likely encourage many individuals to spend the day on the region's waterways, including lakes, rivers and the Delta – where many will bask in alcohol or drug use – and “that will be a dangerous mix,” Broschard said.
Every 12 months, firefighters and other public safety officials throughout the Bay Area and Northern California attempt to remind residents and visitors that using fireworks is one of the crucial dangerous things they will do.
“The most frustrating thing for us is all the emergencies we get called out to that really could have been prevented with a little bit of thought,” Burkett said Friday. “People think this won't happen to them. But every year it happens.”
All fireworks are illegal in Contra Costa County. The “safe and sane” variety, which incorporates sparklers and small firecrackers, are sold at local fundraisers and their use is permitted – with restrictions reminiscent of time and place – in Newark, Union City, Dublin, Gilroy, Pacifica and San Bruno. These fireworks, like all other fireworks, are prohibited within the remaining counties of Alameda, Santa Clara and San Mateo.
Despite warnings, firefighters say there remains to be an lively black marketplace for illegal fireworks and using each legal and illegal fireworks is increasing.
“It's going up, up, up,” said Broschard. “It doesn't seem to be letting up.”
In Dublin, local nonprofits began selling the protected and sensible variant on Friday and are permitted to accomplish that over the vacations. Homeowners are permitted to make use of them during that week-long period, but not in apartment buildings or on public spaces.
Gilroy is the one city in Santa Clara County that enables these fireworks. Residents should buy them at any licensed donation booth to support Gilroy's youth and nonprofit organizations. Purchasers must bring their ID to prove they’re over 18 and a Gilroy resident.
Buyers of legal fireworks are allowed to make use of them — only in designated areas — from Monday 9:00 a.m. to Thursday 10:00 p.m.
Two cities in San Mateo County allow protected and sensible fireworks displays: Pacifica and San Bruno.
In Pacifica, the devices could be used from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. through Friday. San Bruno residents can legally set off their fireworks between noon and 9 p.m. through Wednesday and between noon and 11 p.m. on Thursday.
Regardless of when the devices are deployed, their use is at all times dangerous, Burkett said. This 12 months, climate and weather conditions have increased the danger.
While this 12 months's wet winter helped vegetation grow within the Bay Area, that tall brush is now particularly vulnerable to fireside, Burkett said.
She and other firefighters urged people to benefit from the fireworks at considered one of the various skilled shows happening within the Bay Area skies Thursday night.
Burkett recommends staying near fireworks in order that fires could be quickly extinguished. Fireworks must also be set off away from vegetation. Fireworks must also be set off in areas with loads of space between buildings and brush, reminiscent of driveways.
Children should never handle fireworks unsupervised, officials said.
“This should go without saying, but every year we see a young person get injured because they are not supervised,” Larson said. “Unfortunately, this happens every year.”
The same goes for water emergencies, officials said. They urged residents to think twice before heading to an area that might be crowded, as the vacation is one of the crucial popular days for recreational boaters. They reminded boaters that drinking on the water is just as illegal as driving a automotive. Alcohol and jet skiing are also prohibited.
“The problem with water is that it can happen in a flash,” Broschard said. “People can get into trouble in a flash.”
Due to the weather, Bay Area beaches and waterways could also be more crowded than usual on the weekends surrounding the vacation and on the vacation itself. The Fourth of July is even forecast to chill barely after increasing heat on Tuesday and Wednesday.
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