Class C Approved Fireworks:
- may produce a shower of sparks to a maximum of 15 feet
- is not designed to explode or leave the ground
- may be a device that spins, jumps, or emits popping sounds when discharged
Fireworks are for sale now in lots of stores.
Does it make any sense that they're legal to buy
but illegal to use?
Because that is the situation right now.
News Specialist Kirsten Sorenson makes it make sense.
There seems to be a lot of confusion about when you can light those fireworks.
So are Utahns who do blatantly breaking the law?
Or are they just unaware it is illegal to celebrate the Fourth of July until July?
Year after year, firefighters find themselves explaining again and again what's legal and what's not.
Capt. Jay Ziolkowski/Salt Lake County Fire Department: "I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S SO MUCH CONFUSION, OR WILLFULLY DISOBEYING. IT'S JUST A MATTER OF EDUCATION."
By state law, stores and stands can sell fireworks from June 19th to July 25th.
But it's illegal in Utah to light fireworks until July 1st. It's okay until the 7th, and from July 21st to July 27th.
That's the three days before, the day of, and the three days after the Fourth of July and Pioneer Day - July 24th.
But officials say it's not those fireworks bought in state that cause the most problems.
Those bought somewhere else, like Wyoming, and transported illegally into Utah cause more.
Capt. Jay Ziolkowski/Salt Lake County Fire Department: "THERE ARE THOSE THAT PURCHASE ILLEGAL FIREWORKS. NOW, OF COURSE, ILLEGAL-- THAT MEANS IT'S ILLEGAL, REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE DATES ARE."
But fire officials say they believe many of the fireworks caused fires are accidental, caused by people just wanting to try out that stuff they just bought at the store.
They report an increase in calls since the June 19th selling start date.
Capt. Jay Ziolkowski/Salt Lake County Fire Department: "THIS TIME OF YEAR, REGARDLESS OF WHAT IS THE INITIATOR, IF YOU WILL, WHETHER IT BE A FIREWORK, A MATCH, A CIGARETTE, IS THAT FACT THAT WE ARE IN A HOT DRY SEASON RIGHT NOW."
If you have any illegal fireworks or other kind you don't want tempting you, officials recommend getting rid of them.
But don't throw any unexploded fireworks in the garbage - they're not allowed in the landfill.
Just drop them off at a nearby fire station, no questions asked.
Salt Lake County is the first jurisdiction to outright ban fireworks in certain areas.
You can't light them east of Wasatch Boulevard, or south of Highland Drive in Draper, west of Highway 111, and 134th South in Riverton.
Other counties area considering similar bans.
