Fireworks are great fun for the pyromaniacs but not so much fun for neighbors trying to sleep. The noise level is bad enough during the Fourth of July but New Year’s Eve has become just as offensive. The fireworks on the market these days create explosions loud enough to rattle windows. This is no longer an enjoyable display of sparks. Fireworks have become an invasion of peace and an extreme fire danger; neighborhoods sound like war zones. Common sense is lost on the selfish few who create a night of horrors for those who need their sleep.
This New Year’s Eve the offenders began illegal fireworks at 9 p.m. and continued relentlessly until after 1 a.m. Law enforcement was nowhere to be seen. Fines for illegal possession and use of fireworks can be steep — in Clark County up to $1,000 and/or 90 days in jail. Possession of illegal devices is a felony.
I propose enactment of a fireworks bounty. City and county budgets are tight and strict enforcement of the fireworks law could generate extra revenue. A hotline could be established to report illegal fireworks and callers could provide details to help locate the abusers. For each citation issued the caller receives a $25 bounty. With a well-staffed code enforcement crew during the weeks before and after the Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve, a night of issuing citations for violations could produce some “explosive” results.
Carla Wehrmann
Vancouver
