Laser rangers, green hornets, magic crystals and Galileo’s flying saucers were unloaded on Whidbey recently and are ready to make their annual debut. To some, their arrival symbolizes the kickoff to a glorious eight-day stretch of sparks, pops and light. To others, their presence means eight days of interrupted sleep and futile efforts to calm down Fido.
Tuesday marked the first day of firework sales in Island County. The county follows state regulations regarding legal or consumer fireworks and allows them to be purchased between specified hours from June 28 until July 5. They can be discharged from noon to 11 p.m. June 28, and from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. June 29 through July 3 and on July 5. On the Fourth, they can be set off from 9 a.m. to midnight.
By following state guidelines, Whidbey residents have more freedom than people in neighboring cities. While Anacortes and Burlington have full-on firework bans, Oak Harbor residents are only restricted from lighting them off in city parks, on school campuses or on Navy property.
Island County Sheriff Mark Brown said the issue of restriction was recently discussed at an Island County Commissioners’ hearing. He said the commissioners discussed limiting the number of days fireworks can be legally discharged in Island County by bringing it down from the current eight to maybe just July 4 and 5.
Though the issue was tabled for further discussion, Brown said there’s a very passionate group of people on Whidbey who are pushing for restrictions to take place in the future.
“People feel (fireworks are) more of a noise problem and more of a pet problem, so those folks would probably like to limit it,” Brown said.
But on the other hand, Brown said there are many people on Whidbey who enjoy their extended Fourth of July celebrations.
“It’s a debate that continues to go on,” he said.
Brown said island police typically don’t receive a huge influx of calls around the Fourth. He said though calls do come in, most are simple complaints and are not classified as true emergencies, which are the focus of his limited staff.
In fact, statewide, firework-related fires and injuries greatly decreased last year. According to the Office of the State Fire Marshal, incidents were down 53 percent, with 575 reports made in 2010 compared to the 1,236 in 2009.
In Island County, the number of incidents has decreased the past five years coming down from a total of 13 in 2006 to just two in 2010.
But lower numbers don’t mean lower risk. In 2010, firework incidents statewide resulted in $2.1 million of property loss.
Brown said his number one concern usually centers on illegal fireworks which can be unpredictable and extremely dangerous. He said it would take a professional team to safely dismantle compromised M-80s or pipe bombs.
“The sheriff’s office does not condone illegal fireworks,” Brown said. “They’re highly voalite and can be highly dangerous … what can start out as a prank can turn into a high-level crime here. We just have to be careful.”
Purchasing or discharging non-consumer fireworks, like firecrackers or bottle rockets, outside of tribal lands can result in citations ranging from misdemeanors to felonies.
Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal Dan Johnson encourages people to spend their Fourth of July holidays at one of the many professional displays throughout Washington which are safer for the public. For a list of more than 100 displays, visit http://www.wsp.wa.gov/fire/docs/fireworks/fireshow.pdf.
