Document text
Fireworks over fire threats By Myles Murphy Ashland Daily Tidings As Independence Day approaches, Ashlanders stockpile fireworks and grapple with the annual dilemma: Fire danger or patriotic fun? "It seems like an American tradition," Stan Shadley said while helping his son Sean pick out incendiary devices to celebrate the birth of the nation. "But you want to be careful with the fireworks." Emma Meenaghan, 6, and her brother Riley, 4, watch smoke bombs lit Tuesday evening on Oak Knoll Drive. Ashland Daily Tidings/ DENISE BARATTA The Shadleys - like Ashland itself - are divided on the topic. In the extra dry summer of 2001, the Ashland City Council discussed banning fireworks from the city completely to reduce the chance of a wildfire in the Watershed, but backed off to restricting their use to the two weeks leading up to July 4 during which the state of Oregon allows fireworks sales. This year, that two-week period began June 23. A few customers roamed the fireworks aisles Tuesday at the stand set up on Highway 99 north of the city limits. Fireworks sale in the city is forbidden. "I guess if the fire danger was really high, I'd be for banning them, maybe," Sean Shadley said. "And we're really careful," the elder Shadley said, describing the way the family keeps a hose handy while shooting off fireworks, and even prepares buckets of water in advance. Connie Shadley, originally from Germany, said she believes it's a little crazy to set off fireworks in the summer at all. She prefers the tradition of her native land where fireworks are saved for New Year's, when everything is cold and damp. "If it's safe, maybe it's all right," she said. "But if the fire danger is extreme like it was last year, we shouldn't need to set off fireworks." Still, Stan Shadley said he looks forward to the smaller family-oriented tradition, and remembers fondly times they gathered with other Ashlanders at relatively safe spots such as the ScienceWorks parking lot to set off hundreds of home-bought fireworks. "It smelled like a battlefield," he said. Riddley resident Karen Peck was picking up a few sparklers after a visit to Ashland. "It's probably horrible, but we love it," Peck said. "We used to live in Arizona where they're banned, and it was ugly." Every year, misused fireworks cause minor - and sometimes major - havoc in and around the city. In 2001, a fire caused by children playing with leftover fireworks destroyed an Ashland home a week after Independence Day. "And they were using the fireworks in the street (in front of the house), which you might think would be safe," Ashland Fire & Rescue Chief Keith Woodley noted. The incident was one of the sparks which set in motion an emergency ordinance banning fireworks for the remainder of that fire season, according Woodley. "The fire department has always been concerned about fireworks use," Woodley said "Its just very difficult to use them safely. Attending a public display is a safer way to spend your time." Ashland presents a public display each Fourth at the Southern Oregon University sports fields off Wightman Street, a nighttime show that can be seen for miles. Fireworks are banned in areas with dry vegetation throughout Jackson County. Woodley recommends people who set off fireworks in the city do so on an irrigated landscape. Permission from the property owner must be given before fireworks can be set off in a parking lot or other popular gathering spots such as Ashland High School or SOU grounds. "In all honesty, there aren't many places in the Rogue Valley to use fireworks safely," Woodley said. Ashland police will issue citations for illegal fireworks use as well as the misuse of legal fireworks. The city imposes a fine of up to $500, Woodley said. Safety and common sense are key to protecting property, life and limb - and to avoid a hefty fine and possible jail time, according to Sally Ridenour of the Oregon Fire Marshal's Office. In Oregon, legal fireworks are those that do not explode, fly into the air or behave in an uncontrollable manner, Ridenour said. Any fireworks you buy at a legitimate stand in the state will be legal, but many people bring illegal devices from other states. "There are a lot of people who do that," Ridenour said. "Having illegal fireworks is a misdemeanor and carries a civil penalty, depending on how much you have, of $250 to $1,000." Misusing fireworks can also bring the law down on your head. "It's very easy to misuse a legal firework - throw it into the air, put it into a can, combine fireworks," Ridenour said. "If you alter them or combine fireworks, you've now entered a whole other set of rules. That's manufacturing explosives. It becomes a bomb." Altering legal fireworks is a much more serious offense and is handled at the federal level, according to Ridenour. It is class C felony and carries a penalty of up to five years in prison or up to a $100,000 fine. Children who are charged with fireworks violations are often given an opportunity to work off their penalty through diversion or educational programs. Adults go straight into the court system. "We take it very seriously," Ridenour said. "And they can set a bad example. If parents are being sneaky, kids think it's OK for them to be sneaky." Under state law, if someone ignores the rules and sets off a wildfire, the person could be billed for firefighting costs. Parents can be held financially responsible for fires started by their children. "We bill people and we make them pay," Ridenour said. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -