Clark County fireworks sales burst into action

The Vancouver City Council in October voted to ban the sale and discharge of personal fireworks inside city limits. Because of state laws, changes in local fireworks rules don’t take effect for a full year after they’re passed, meaning the ban won’t be in place until 2017.

Gene Marlow, owner of Mean Gene Fireworks, said he’s expecting good business this year, especially compared with last year.

“I think the folks in Vancouver that realize this is the last year they can legally use fireworks may want to go out with a bang, so to speak,” he said.

Camas’ council stopped short of banning fireworks, and instead reduced the days they could be used. The council also voted to enable the city’s mayor to ban fireworks during times of high fire danger. Like Vancouver’s ban, Camas’ new rules won’t go into effect until 2017.

Earlier this month, Washougal passed an ordinance similar to the one in Camas, allowing emergency bans.

Residents packed the Vancouver council chamber in September and complained of lost business, threats to personal choice and worries about enforcement, while others commented on the noise, safety issues, problems with pollution and fire danger.

That year, fireworks sparked four structure fires, a vehicle fire and 14 fires in landscaping and vegetation during the fireworks seasons, fire officials told the council.

Fires did $574,000 in damage around July 4 in the city, up from $5,000 the year before. The Vancouver Fire Department paid $107,000 in overtime in late June and early July. In the rest of the county, fireworks fires did more than $250,000 in damage.

“The decision to ban was made on the voices of the vocal minority, and it’s unfortunate,” Marlow said.

The city had been cutting sales and discharge times for some time, he said, adding the weeklong firing windows of the past were probably too much.

Still, he said, an utter ban risks creating an intractable enforcement problem, and it might drive people to buy less safe, unregulated fireworks.

“Everybody freaked out and they decided to just ban them completely, based on a very rare weather event,” he said.

Even with the ban, Marlow said he’s not too worried about next year’s bottom line, but he did wonder about the nonprofit organizations that sell fireworks around the Fourth.

Many fireworks stands kick a portion of their profits to the Fort Vancouver Historical Trust’s annual fireworks show, so the loss of revenue for stands in the city will definitely hurt, trust program manager Natalie Hantho said. The trust splits its budget for the show into thirds, roughly: Sponsorships, ticket sales and fireworks sales.

“We’re getting prepared for it. It’s going to kind of change the event, from a funding standpoint, but we’ll make it up in ticket sales or sponsorships,” she said.

Ron Taylor, co-chairman of the Vancouver Elks fireworks committee and club chairman, is more worried.

The ban is disappointing, he said, considering where the money they raise goes. Last year, after paying for expenses, the Elks raised about $38,000 for their community and youth activities. A couple of years ago, they raised about $60,000.

“One hundred percent of the money that we get for our fireworks goes to youth activities such as the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, different ball teams, sports teams,” he said.

Another piece of that money ended up going back to the city to support city parks and recreation activities, he added. Taylor said the club is trying to ramp up its car show and find other fundraising avenues, but it’s a big hole to fill.

“We’re trying to come up with ideas on what to do. It’s just a work in progress,” he said.

Jake Mobley of Salmon Creek came to BlackJack Fireworks on Tuesday with his family, and said he worried bans would get more widespread.

He has been shooting off fireworks on the Fourth for most of his life, and he was looking forward to celebrating with his kids.

“My memories as a child were fireworks, you know?” he said. “I appreciate the patriotism everyone has, the big tents and the balloons. It kind of makes this time of year feel right.”

In his celebrations, they try to wrap it up by 10 p.m. and be relatively courteous.

He conceded that Vancouver is more populous and denser than it used to be, so it makes some sense for the city to tighten its fireworks rules.

But you can’t enforce neighborliness, he said, and fireworks rules that are too strict only lead to scofflaws.

“It’s important to respect everybody and have a good time, but it’s that wonderful word, ‘moderation,’ ” he said. “What is moderation?”

***

Correction appended: A box that ran with this article misstated the start of legal fireworks discharge in the unincorporated county north of 219th Street, and Anthony Bittner’s name was misspelled.