Are fireworks worth the hassle?

    I went to my favorite park on July 5^th and attempted to walk my dogs, only to be met with debris from the previous night’s celebration.  The sidewalk was impassable as the discarded remains of spent bottle rockets, different sizes of cardboard cones, tubes and various other carcasses of expended fireworks littered the path.  In the grassy areas, there was an abundance of spent fireworks debris as well as other forms of picnic accoutrements. The park workers were using blowers in order to gather up as much of the trash as possible, creating mounds of litter.  Improper knowledge and disposal of expended fireworks can lead to property damage, injuries or worse.(see attached)

During the night of July 4^th, my house and surrounding area was bombarded with concussive explosions, falling debris from the sky and showers of sparks.  Thankfully, we had a decent rain the night before. I spent the next day walking around my property picking up the remnants of someone else’s anti-aircraft barrage.

In the past, the day after the 4^th always had Las Vegas skies dull with smoke residue, and thankfully, this year we had some wind and rain to help wash the smog away.

This particular year, I seemed to notice that there was an abundance of fireworks in the residential areas of town, and not all the legal type.  Huge blooms of rainbow colored sparks showered down on homes, and loud booms shook windows, setting off vehicle alarms and some residential alarms.  Animals were darting around, trying to find shelter from the noise and sparks.

I mentioned this to a friend, who advised me that the city/county was encouraging fireworks sales to bolster the economy (I’m sure this included permit fees).  I pointed out that most of the fireworks displays I observed were of the type not legal to buy or sell in Clark County, so it only benefitted the county where they were purchased, not here.  In fact, these types of fireworks are responsible for most of the fire related damages in Las Vegas.(Fox 5 Story) 

Some of the fireworks confiscated during a traffic stop follow-up had never been seen before, according to investigators, which should be a concern, since we all know that everyone reads instructions, right?