I love living in Vancouver, except for the insane season of July 4th, when residents must tolerate incredibly loud blasts for weeks, despite the “legal” fireworks term being just four days in the city of Vancouver.
The real problem is not the number of days, but the type of fireworks allowed. Most civilized communities, including Portland, allow only a limited type of fireworks, not the larger “war zone” variety that we have to endure.
What does it say about our community that we allow pets to be terrorized, sleepless residents to be jolted out of bed by loud explosions and some war veterans to have to leave town due to the stress of loud fireworks.
On no other holiday do we allow deafening noise for days while burning fireworks debris lands on our roofs and yards, but somehow for the July 4th season we must tolerate it to prove we are patriotic.
