Are fireworks legal in Erie Colorado?

Boulder County residents are concerned about area firework stands and dry weather as the Fourth of July approaches.

Stage 1 fire restrictions were enacted on June 15 in unincorporated areas of western Boulder County. Such restrictions prohibit firework sales, use and possession, including legal fireworks (fountains, ground spinners, illuminating torches, dipped sticks and sparklers, toy propellants, trick noise makers and tube devices).

The current fire risk conditions in the area of western Boulder County are generally increased this time of year, which is why Sheriff Joe Pelle enacted the Stage 1 fire restrictions, said Carrie Haverfield, communication specialist at the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office.

There are different fireworks restrictions in Boulder County, depending on where a resident lives, and that can be confusing to residents, Haverfield said.

In Lafayette and Louisville, all fireworks, including permissible ones, also are prohibited.

One firework stand in particular at 5171 Eldorado Springs Drive has been the subject of many complaints because of its proximity to where it is believed the Marshall Fire started at the end of December. Though fireworks were not found to be the cause of the fire, people are concerned about the danger of fireworks, said Ron Flax, deputy director of building and permits.

A number of people had reached out to the county about that specific firework stand, Flax and Haverfield said.

Cathy Proenza, an Eldorado Springs resident who has expressed concern about the fireworks tent for years, said several neighbors had complained about the tent as well.

The stand in Eldorado Springs has had a permit issued by Community Planning & Permitting since 1997, Haverfield said.

“That stand’s location falls under the area where Stage 1 fire restrictions went into effect on June 15. On that same day, a deputy went to the stand to inform them that fire restrictions had just been enacted, and per the fire restrictions resolution, the sale of fireworks is not permitted,” Haverfield said. The stand has since ceased operations, she said.

Any type of firework that leaves the ground is illegal in Colorado with the exception of permitted professional firework displays.

“We always recommend that people do their research ahead of time to determine if fireworks use is permissible where they are located — or even better yet, leave the fireworks to the professionals and attend a local (permitted) firework show,” Haverfield said.

Public displays

Erie Fireworks Show

WHERE: Erie Community Park

WHEN: July 3 with fireworks around 9:30 p.m.

Lafayette Independence Day Fun & Fireworks

WHERE: Waneka Lake

WHEN: Saturday, July 2 with fireworks at dusk

Longmont Independence Celebration

WHERE: Fox Hill Country Club

WHEN: Monday, July 4 with fireworks at 9:30 p.m.

Louisville July 4 Fireworks

WHERE: Central Louisville

WHEN: Monday, July 4 with fireworks at 9:45 p.m

Boulder fireworks at Folsom Field have been canceled

EDITOR’S NOTE: Photo captions on this story have been corrected to indicate that the fireworks stand that is pictured is in unincorporated Boulder County.

Fireworks stands have started making their seasonal appearance, and law enforcement agencies and fire departments are reminding residents that state and local laws restrict the types of fireworks that can be possessed and set off, even on people’s own private properties.

Other than fireworks featured in public and professional displays that have received government permits, Colorado law generally allows only fireworks that don’t leave the ground or explode.

“In other words, if it flies or goes ‘boom,’ it is illegal to possess or use without a permit,” said Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle.

Typically allowed under state law — unless banned by stricter local ordinances — are such devices as fountains, toy caps, snake or glow worms, ground spinners, illuminating torches, dipped sticks and sparklers, toy propellants, and noise makers that crackle or whistle but don’t make loud explosive sounds.

Prohibited by state law are firecrackers, rockets — including bottle rockets — Roman candles, cherry bombs, mortars and M-80s.

“We encourage everyone to be respectful of their neighbors,” said Longmont Police Cmdr. Jeff Satur. “Not everyone appreciates having fireworks shot at their house or in their neighborhoods.”

Municipalities can go beyond Colorado law and further restrict the types of fireworks that can be used within their boundaries.

At least two area cities, Boulder and Lafayette, have done so, prohibiting personal fireworks entirely.

“The use of all fireworks, including items such as sparklers, snakes, and smoke bombs, is prohibited within Lafayette city limits,” said city spokeswoman Debbie Wilmot. “The Lafayette Police Department will cite those in possession or caught using them.”

Nor are any kinds of fireworks — including those otherwise permitted under Colorado law — allowed on Boulder County-owned open space areas, Boulder’s city Open Space and Mountain Parks properties, or in the Arapahoe and Roosevelt National Forests or in Rocky Mountain National Park.

In some past years, weeks of drier-than-normal conditions presented possible fire hazards that resulted in blanket fireworks prohibitions. That’s not likely in 2015, after an unusually wet May and occasional rains thus far in June.

Pelle said, “Given all the wet weather and green grass we do not anticipate any bans on the sale or use of fireworks in the county.”

But “ordinances vary from town to town,” said Pelle, advising people “to know what the rules are where you live” before they use fireworks that they might think are legal.

Longmont is one of the numerous local governments that does allow people to possess and set off fireworks that don’t explode, soar or shoot balls of flame.

Last year, between June 25 and July 11, Longmont police fielded 328 “calls for service” relating to fireworks, according to public safety analyst Matt Lee.

That number was actually lower than in some previous years, police Cmdr. Satur said. He said he expects that Longmont police and fire personnel will once again this year conduct special nighttime patrols in the days leading up to and following July 4.

People caught, ticketed and convicted of using or possessing illegal fireworks in Longmont face potential fines of up to $500 per violation.

Boulder Police Department spokeswoman Laurie Ogden said that department, as in years past, also will increase enforcement over the Fourth of July weekend. She said explosion of fireworks without a permit in Boulder carries a potential fine of up to $1,000, or up to 90 days in jail, or both.

Ogden said Boulder police wrote 31 fireworks violation tickets in 2013, and 21 tickets last year.

Wilmot said anyone convicted of illegally possessing or setting off fireworks in Lafayette could be fined between $200 and $1,000.

Frederick and Firestone are among the area communities whose local ordinances generally follow state law about what fireworks are permitted and what aren’t,

Firestone spokeswoman Kristi Ritter said that town’s police department “will have officers on duty, especially in the evenings, to answer fireworks-specific complaints.”

Frederick spokeswoman Megan Williams said her town’s police department will have an anti-DUI enforcement effort over the Fourth of July weekend, but that there’s “nothing specifically planned for fireworks.”

Williams said Frederick police confiscated two batches of illegal fireworks last year, “and if they see or hear of anyone setting off illegal fireworks, they will investigate and confiscate where necessary.”

Mountain View Fire Rescue, which serves an area stretching from eastern Boulder County into southwest Weld County, suggested that people consider leaving all fireworks to professionals and to watch a public display, rather than setting off their own.

“Fireworks during the Fourth of July are as American as apple pie, but did you know that more than twice the number of fires are reported on that day than on any other day of the year in the United States?” Mountain View Fire Rescue officials asked in a recent news release.

Two out of every five of those Fourth of July fires are caused by fireworks, according to that fire district.

It urged people not even to use “consumer fireworks” such as sparklers, which the fire district said “burn at a temperature of more than 1,200 degrees. Ouch!”

John Fryar: 303-684-5211, or twitter.com/jfryartc

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