In your neighborhood, do people set off fireworks?

Yes. And the air is thick with smoke.

NO!

Even city sponsored fireworks are cancelled this year. The western US is a tinderbox, and even a “harmless” sparkler is enough to set off a conflagration.

Most personal fireworks are not legal here any way, even the safe and sane kind. Back in the nineteen hundreds, we used to go up to San Francisco and buy firecrackers, barrel bombs,m-80s, and cherry bombs. But that really stopped in the 1980s, and most kids around here have never set them off.

Unfortunately, they made personal fireworks legal in NJ a few years ago. Last year we had weeks of firework noise before and after the 4th. This year has not been so bad and all the local fireworks have been cancelled because of fears of crowds and violence. There was a display at a local private golf club last weekend.

Only around Silvester. It is illegal any other time of the year.

From Memorial Day to Labor Day, every night. I hate it. One or two Saturday nights during the season, OK, but the insistence on the Big Noise stuff every night is a huge nuisance.

@zenvelo I heard from friends in Billings that their new governor, NJ Mob Guy GiantFart, has lifted restrictions on Roman candles and other major incendiaries this year…so that Montana’s citizens can be patriotic while they burn their tinder dry state to the ground.

It’s hard to tell about my neighborhood. Fireworks are permitted by my state but illegal within my city. I do hear the noises, but I don’t know whether they’re close nearby or in some adjacent municipality.

All weekend, there’ll be firework shows at Nationals Park, which are great fun. Also, my city has a fireworks celebration on the Potomac, with a symphony orchestra performing; a fabulous evening.

Only on Halloween, this time of year it would get you arrested ,we are all on edge with forest fires around us we just lost 90% of a small town a hour and a half south of us.

@SQUEEKY2 That’s terrible!

Yes. A month before through a month after, it’s annoying.
It’s only legal on the day of 4th of July, officially.

Anything I type makes me sound like a Karen so I’ll leave it at that. :)

@Knowitall. Hey! We Karens have to stick together!

They do – my county has pretty strict regulations on fireworks, but written into the law are exceptions for July 4 weekend and New Years weekend.

So it will be noisy for the next couple days.

As I understand it’s all illegal here. I don’t see people set them off so much right where I am, but in places like East Palo Alto (which is not far from where I live) it’s a problem and police there have seized huge stockpiles of them.

@janbb They almost hit my senior dog two weeks ago in my own backyard trying to potty between skirmishes.

Have fun @LuckyGuy, sounds like you’re a responsible neighbor. :)

@KNOWITALL Also, a lot of dogs and military vets freak out from the noise.

@janbb Yeah, my poor neighbor’s been scouring the neighborhood for his fraidy cat 4–5 days now. Poor Osage is a big orange Tom but hates loud noises so we’re trying to find him before it gets really bad tonight and tomorrow. :(
The birds and other animals all left a few weeks ago for the most part. I literally don’t see any outside right now at all which is very creepy for me.

Yeah, they do, and big in-the-sky ones, too. They do it through they year, but not regularly. I often smell wafts of firework smoke in the air but am not sure exactly where they come from- but I know it’s by the water. The worst part for me, is that I live about a mile from a bay—and folks that live by and on the water shoot off fireworks… my thought each time is about all the toxins and debris that are being added to the bay.

I haven’t bought fireworks, other than sparklers, for about 7 years- – first reason, I was living in Colorado, and anyone that sets off uncontrolled sparks in Colorado is a complete idiot asking for a jail sentence from starting forest or grass fires. The other reason is—nothing from the expensive pop up tent fireworks store will be as fun as the big boom booms from my childhood. That’s pfft.

I am, however, going to a place where there will be big boom booms!

This has been the quietest run up to the 4th in my life. In fact it’s damned near spooky to be this close to the 4th without the dogs here going crazy.

Yes. We have municiple ordinances against it but people do it anway. Only time I have ever seen police respond was three years ago, when some Einstein set off a bunch of bottle rockets in the street in front of his house. Probably a Darwin Award nominee.

I live in Memphis, and not only do we have constant fireworks / fire flying into our yard but a lot of people fire guns en leiu of fireworks—as the sound is similar. You can tell the difference in that the firing of automatic weapons has a steady rhythm and the shots sound alike.

Of course they are illegal (fireworks, arson, guns) but the police always lay low.

Where I live, fireworks are a huge thing every year. There is one house that does a huge display, and we (other neighbors) always speculate what he spends. We guess-timate 20k.

There are also other fireworks all over the lake, so you can stand out there and look in all directions and see fireworks displays all around. The noise fireworks will be heard all weekend.

Where I live started out as a summer community, and a lot of people have ties through relatives from the beginning of the community (about 100 years ago) or were here decades ago, 50’s and 60’s and so the traditions run strong. There’s a little parade where there is a fire truck and decorated cars and kids on bikes and people walking and waving. You can wave at them from your house or you can join in. Where it ends, there are hot dogs (free). Same thing every year, because it’s the tradition. Neighbors go out, socialize, eat the hot dogs, then go to the lake swimming.

The whole neighborhood is like a giant party, all weekend. I usually don’t have company, and every year I think to myself, when I see this huge fireworks display right across the street, that I should have people over to enjoy it too. This year I’m having one couple and their two daughters.

@jca2 That sounds lovely!
I think we all should visit next year!

Where I live it is not permitted but people do it anyway. I love to watch fireworks, but the noise is unbearable. It gives me a headache. My main concern is actually for the pets. Years ago, we lost a beloved dog because he really couldn’t handle it which ultimately led to his demise.

Pets have always been a main concern for me, especially dogs. Cats are upset by the noise, too, and will hide. But worse still is having to put out fires set by careless neighbors, and like I also said earlier, a lot of people where I live will fire guns—the kind with the evenly spaced pops—that let you know they are guns. There is a lot of gunfire at Christmas, too—as a semi-automatic weapon is a typical Christmas gift.

They’re going like gangbusters right now.

They’re at it here too. Only this year things are comparatively anemic. Even last year the cacophony was comparable to an intense and prolonged artillery duel. Now the explosions are intermittent and separated by minutes. It isn’t dark yet. The fog is here but high here at the house. I don’t know how low it is over by the bay where the sanctioned fireworks are scheduled. It’s the same question every year as to whether the sky will be clear. It’s 54 degrees and dropping.

I turned on fans, air co and tv, pulled my blackout curtains closed and mine were ok. I did have to put the leash on my old gal to go potty around 11pm but most of the kids were done by then.

It went on until the wee smalls here, poor pup is exhausted, I’m kinda done, too. This will go on every night until Labor Day, but not so intensely, thank goodness.

It turns out the booms increased considerably here once night fell.

Yes, even with a fireworks ban, as the ban is there, but it’s not enforced.