Celebrate in Safety; Fire Districts Ready to Bust Non-Municipal Fireworks

If it's got a fuse and it flies, better not light it around the Nevada County Consolidated Fire District.

Drunks and crashes are always a concern during the Fourth of July weekend, but firefighters wind up spending most of their time cracking down on fireworks complaints, Consolidate Battalion Chief Tim Fike said.

With fireworks stands already hawking their wares in local parking lots, fire crews expect to be doubling as law enforcers.

Lighting any kind of fireworks is banned outside the Nevada City and Grass Valley city limits.

Not that fireworks are allowed anywhere in the cities.

In Grass Valley, the following areas are restricted:

A|l city parks, Whispering Pines industrial park area; part of the Carriage House subdivision; parts of Morgan Ranch and Ventana Sierra subdivisions; Brighton Street from Packard Street to McCourtney Road; Doris Drive Canyon Annex; Slate Creek Annex; Sierra College; Sierra Foothill High School; and Mulcahy and Litton ball fields.

In Nevada City, fireworks are prohibited in:

Deer Creek's environs; the Nevada City Airport property and all areas served by Providence Mine Road.

While fireworks increase the risk of fires, "We just don't get a lot of fire activity" during the Fourth, Fike said. "But we do respond to a lot of fireworks complaints, and we either confiscate them or tell (people) to move into the city."

Fireworks that go airborne, such as bottle rockets, are confiscated, said Fike. He advised fireworks' customers to make sure what they buy has the state fire marshal's stamp of approval.

"That rules out anything that's going to fly in the air," Fike said.

For the Fourth, Consolidated will be beefing up its staff at Station 91 for the fireworks display at the county fairgrounds.

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