A safe and very happy 4th to all.

Same to you Patrick!

Everyone be safe - don't shoot yer eye out kids!

Thanks Patrick!  Same to you and all here.

The quote in my sig says it all.  

Happy 4th of July to my fellow countrymen!

Ha - eagle thats hilarious.  

Have a great 4th my fellow Americans!

Around here they started yeaterday with some vdery respectable size fireworks.  It also sounded like they went off near the ground.  They started up again this morning ahd have been going off in spurts between the rain periods.

So far no idiot that I have heard has been shooting live rounds into the air.

Have a good 4th and enjoy the cookouts.

State regs here don't allow anything that goes over a foot off the ground, even bottle rockets are a no-no.  But every year I have idiots all the way around us shooting off aerials that go a couple hundred feet up.  We live about three miles out of town, with a lot of trees and high grass around.

Been extremely dry, and 3 days of 108+ temps last Saturday-monday really dried it out.  Both national forests in the area have banned campfires except in steel rings in developed campgrounds.  Problem is, law enforcement almost has to see someone lighting the fuse to cite them, and by the time you call and they get there, it's pretty much over, so no sense in even bothering.

Bracing for the worst

goldhammer

But every year I have idiots all the way around us shooting off aerials that go a couple hundred feet up.  We live about three miles out of town, with a lot of trees and high grass around.

About 3AM this morning, while camping in Golden Gate Canyon State Park, there were idiots shooting fireworks from their campsite.  That whole park is hundreds of square miles of dense pine forest.  Oh...and then following someone down the mountain and seeing them flip a butt out the window was also a "joy" to witness.  

Back home now, and I'm sure I have lots of the same to look forward to here...along with the 75 IQ subwoofer crowd that think I want to listen to that garbage they call "music".  Add to that a largely incompetent Sheriff's department?  What could go wrong?

Years ago when I was an E.M.T. I remember that the 4th of July was one of our busiest days, unfortunately.  Car accidents caused by individuals leaving picnics after having too much to drink, people with hands and other body parts injuried by holding onto fireworks too long, and finally people who decided to go swimming after "partying" too much. This holiday has so many memories for me, many pleasant but some not so.  Happy Fourth of July everyone! 

 4 years ago, a 15 year old, throwing fireworks started the Eagle Creek fire in the Columbia Gorge.  Ended up burning right around 50,000 acres, and the judge hit him with 36 million in restitution that he'll never be able to come close to paying.  They just reopened the main trail this last week, lot of others are still closed for years to come.

The ones we had last year totally destroyed 3 towns within 60 miles of me, and a couple more in southern Oregon.  Think the Paradise CA fire a few years ago for the level of destruction. Those were lightning caused.

So I take it y'all ain't into fireworks.

Well, for the record, I'm not big on them either. We stay at home so our fur babies will be safe while it sounds like a war zone outside. I understand if you like them but I might as well light a $20 on fire for all the fun that they are to me. I have better things to do with that $20

But, happy birthday America . 

Don't get me wrong, I like watching the sanctioned shows, and helped on a crew for 3 years, (never saw those, too busy cleaning tubes and loading the next sequence).  It's the idiots... like the next door pothead and his friends already starting 2 hours before sunset in the mobile home park I live in.  One already clanged on the roof.

We have Mass outdoors at Carmel Mission. Today a group of 40 elderly Vietnamese, Catholic by definition; all came and sat together. I'm an usher and my other usher Ron and I made it work.

I figure those folks appreciate as much as anyone what freedom stands for.

Bill

Those that got here before and as South Vietnam fell know what it means and appreciate it more than some born here.

goldhammer

Don't get me wrong, I like watching the sanctioned shows, and helped on a crew for 3 years, (never saw those, too busy cleaning tubes and loading the next sequence).  It's the idiots... like the next door pothead and his friends already starting 2 hours before sunset in the mobile home park I live in.  One already clanged on the roof.

Yup.  There's a time and a place for it, and its not in the middle of the forest or around apartment buildings that are all inexplicably surrounded by juniper bushes.  We have already had one building burn to the ground so quickly that the residents were barely able to get out in time due to those stupid juniper bushes.  They built a brand new building there, moved a bunch of people in, and then landscaped around it with...you guessed it...MORE JUNIPER BUSHES!  I've seen a tanker truck take over half an hour to successfully put out a fire in just one of those darn things near my building.  Me and a few other residents had a bucket brigade going before they showed up, and we might as well have been spitting on it for all the good it was doing.  Within minutes it got so hot, we couldn't get near it.  So many fire codes for builders to comply with, but that one never seems to make it in there for some reason.  

Eaglecash867

So many fire codes for builders to comply with, but that one never seems to make it in there for some reason.  

Bill

This was my 2nd July 4th in my new house.My deck has a great mountain view. I must say that these people really love their fireworks,not just firecrackers or sparklers, but full blown sky shows,probably hundreds of dollars.The whole sky was lit up for about 45 min, all shot off by regular citizens,not organized shows,and it was really spectacular.This is the view I had.

GMorrison

Code or no code, there's common sense. I pick my landscape consultants carefully, and usually work with the same people. Bill

True.  But, if everybody had common sense, we probably wouldn't need codes.  Can't have a charcoal grill...can't have a grill with a gas cylinder with more than 16 ounces of propane...but your landlord can plant all the thermite [juniper] bushes they want to around any building.

Our village ordinances ban all fireworks without a permit.  Unfortunately they do nothing to actually enforce this even when presented with evidence, and our small police deparment can't either without actively witnessing it.  Best they can do is a driveby after the fact when everyone is gone.  These days if you confront them yourself, you will probably end up as the villain in a viral video that everyone makes into a new meme.

We have had an amateur pyrotechnician in the subdivision across the street lighting off  mortars and rockets each night since June 28th for 10 to 15 minutes, then they duck back in their house.  These are bigguns and they are exploding right over our house that are rattling the windows.  Our farm animals are going berzerk, and the dog will not go outside by herself now.  Several years back one of our steers ran straight into a concrete wall and broke its neck after being startled by an amateur backyard fireworks demonstration from the same subdivision.  That was lost income directly caused by others for which there was no recourse.  Our direct neighbor is a veteran diagnosed with PTSD, and just last week he had a flashback that caused him to hit the floor and take cover after a louder than normal firework.  

Folks, if you live near a working livestock farm, please don't be that guy.

Hi Patrick;

 Well, thanks for that feeling. It was a definite war sounding Zone here. The City and County have ordinances, that really mean nothing. Folks last nite firing them off in some cases stumbled drunkingly away almost to late. My first Wife being a doctor and all, used to volunteer to help in the Emerg.Rm. on this nite. The Horror stories have stuck with me.

    I stay home. Cuddle the furry members of the family who cannot figure what's going on! We only had one fire, put out by the homeowner after a rocket went awry and slammed into his roof under a shingle. Boy, was he P%^^&#!!. Guilty party and him almost went to fist city after the excuse was offered that once it took off they couldn't control it. And houses less than fifty feet away in any direction! 

Tanker-Builder

Guilty party and him almost went to fist city after the excuse was offered that once it took off they couldn't control it.

That homeowner should have patted that guy on the head and said "Awww.  Good for you, buddy!  You just summed up why fireworks that leave the ground ARE ILLEGAL!"

goldhammer

 4 years ago, a 15 year old, throwing fireworks started the Eagle Creek fire in the Columbia Gorge.  Ended up burning right around 50,000 acres, and the judge hit him with 36 million in restitution that he'll never be able to come close to paying.  They just reopened the main trail this last week, lot of others are still closed for years to come.

The ones we had last year totally destroyed 3 towns within 60 miles of me, and a couple more in southern Oregon.  Think the Paradise CA fire a few years ago for the level of destruction. Those were lightning caused.

 

I have no problem with idiots paying their dues for their stupidity but isn't it just as stupid to slap a 15 year old with a bill for $36 million? 
Let's get real, judge; you REALLY expect anyone to pay that? 

Did you hear about the 24yr old NHL hockey player who got hit in the chest with a fireworks mishap and died just this weekend.

Straycat1911

 

 

goldhammer

 4 years ago, a 15 year old, throwing fireworks started the Eagle Creek fire in the Columbia Gorge.  Ended up burning right around 50,000 acres, and the judge hit him with 36 million in restitution that he'll never be able to come close to paying.  They just reopened the main trail this last week, lot of others are still closed for years to come.

The ones we had last year totally destroyed 3 towns within 60 miles of me, and a couple more in southern Oregon.  Think the Paradise CA fire a few years ago for the level of destruction. Those were lightning caused.

 

 

 

 

I have no problem with idiots paying their dues for their stupidity but isn't it just as stupid to slap a 15 year old with a bill for $36 million? 
Let's get real, judge; you REALLY expect anyone to pay that? 

 

I don't think they really expected the full payment, the judge will probably call the judgment satisfied if the young man now keeps his nose clean for a number of years and finishes his other community service sentance.

Question is will the State issue a 1099C if the debt is forgiven?  

The kid thought it was all a great lark, IIRC there was a phone vid of his throwing them off the trail into the brush.

There has been a ban on fireworks for years on federal land out here, and if they find whoever started a human caused fire, they can be held responsible for suppression costs.

This one sent a strong message.