LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) — Authorities in Lewiston are getting ready to crack down on Independence Day revelers who choose to celebrate with fireworks deemed illegal under city rules.
Over the next week, city police officers and firefighters have been told to confiscate and issue citations to people in possession of contraband pyrotechnics. The city has also imposed stiffer penalties for offenders and has launched an education campaign to let citizens know what's acceptable during the 2012 holiday season.
"Illegal fireworks will be confiscated and citations will be issued, but it's going to be a case-by-case basis," police Chief Steven Orr told the Lewiston Tribune (http://bit.ly/Q2DT6d) in a story published Monday.
Orr said the goal of the education campaign and enforcement is aimed at changing the culture in the community.
Under the new rules, anyone caught with illegal fireworks can face fines up to $300 and up to six months in the county jail.
Sale of legal fireworks within the Lewiston city limits is restricted to 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. June 28 through July 5 and only with a business license.
The only legal fireworks are defined as "nonaerial," such as fountains, ground spinners, sparklers and smoke devices.
Firecrackers or other products designed to travel beyond a 15-foot circle, emit sparks or burning debris outside a 20-foot circle fall into the aerial category of banned products, according to city rules.
City leaders began debating restrictions on fireworks in 2007 when fireworks were blamed for sparking a $65,000 fire at the Vineyard Apartments that left four families temporarily homeless.
But the burning of Grace Lutheran Church, with five people sleeping inside, on July 4 last year prompted the city to act. Nobody was injured in the fire, but the church suffered an estimated $800,000 in damage from a fire blamed on a bottle rocket that was found embedded between two roof shingles.
The bottle rocket that caused the damage will become part of a permanent display when the church eventually reopens.
"I'm sure whoever shot off that bottle rocket had no clue anything like that would happen, and in fact they may not know they were responsible," said Peggy Harvey-Marose, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church. "The fire inspector said it probably smoldered for several hours before it burst into flames."
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Information from: Lewiston Tribune, http://www.lmtribune.com