Burn Ban Doesn't Extend To Sparklers

Less than a week before fireworks light up the sky on July 4th, Pasco County commissioners on Tuesday saved youngsters waving sparklers from violating an emergency burn ban issued.

The ban, requested by firefighters because of tinder-dry conditions throughout Pasco County, included a prohibition against relatively benign fireworks, such as sparklers.

It didn’t ban the more explosive devices sold in roadside tents this time of year. It turns out the county doesn’t have the legal muscle to regulate those more impressive fireworks, said Kristi Wooden, assistant county attorney.

Commissioner Ted Schrader raised the question about fireworks at the start of a commission session to discuss road impact fees and parks.

Fireworks vendors who paid for inventory, licenses and leases were worried the ban would keep people from setting off their wares, Schrader said.

Before Tuesday’s commission action, rockets that produced starbursts were allowed, but you couldn’t light a sparkler in unincorporated parts of Pasco County. The ban specifically exempts permitted fireworks of the type set off in public displays.

The explosive fireworks sold in tents are regulated by the state and it’s up to the sheriff’s office to enforce regulations, Wooden said. Tuesday’s decision takes the county completely out of regulating fireworks, she said.

Firefighters asked for the ban before rains began kicking in during the weekend, slightly lowering, but not eliminating, the threat of wildfires like the ones ravaging other parts of the state.

At the time commissioners approved the measure, an index of soil and vegetation moisture, with 800 signaling extreme danger for the spread of fires, stood at 620 in Pasco County.

Rain has slightly reduced the threat.

Tuesday, the index had dropped to 544 for Pasco.

“Fortunately since last week, we’ve had some rain,” Schrader said.