Due to the severe fire season, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors and county fire authorities urge residents to attend public fireworks displays in communities in and around San Bernardino National Forest.

Crestline will stage their fireworks extravaganza on July 1 at Lake Gregory with Fireworks America launching the show. The Crestline event is part of Jamboree Days 2006. Lake Arrowhead's show will be launched by Pyro Spectaculars by Souza over the lake on July 3 with the Big Bear fireworks event slated for July 4.

Basically, all of the public fireworks displays start at approximately 9 p.m.

Personal fireworks are always prohibited on the San Bernardino National Forest (SBNF) and with the Fourth of July approaching, law enforcement and fire officials will be strictly enforcing that regulation!

Anyone convicted of possessing fireworks in the SBNF can be fined up to $5,000 and/or jailed up to six months.

Fireworks are also prohibited in San Bernardino County, although several cities including San Bernardino do allow the sale of so-called safe and sane fireworks. Other communities include Adelanto, Chino, Colton, Fontana, Grand Terrace and Rialto.

While the majority of the so-called safe and sane fireworks come from China and, by California law, are sold only between June 28 and July 4 by non-profit groups with permits, illegal fireworks have a less certain route to the area. Ninety percent of the illegal fireworks confiscated last year originated in Mexico.

San Bernardino County Fire Chief Pat Dennen issued a “fireworks alert” release indicating “fireworks will be confiscated and citations may be issued. In the event a fire occurs due to the unsafe use of fireworks, the individual may be criminally charged and responsible for restitution.

“Fireworks are not toys,” Dennen's release stated. “They can cause deaths, blinding, and other severe injuries. Attend public displays and leave the fireworks displays to the experts.” The alert also cautioned that sparklers, usually considered safe, burn at a very high temperature and ignited clothing easily.

Crest Forest Fire Protection District (CFFPD) personnel will be among the emergency agencies on patrol during the holiday period.

“We'll be looking for illegal fireworks,” Division Chief Dick Parmelee stated. “But we want to thank our local residents with observing the personal fireworks ban since the Old Fire, the bark beetle and the drought. Their efforts to alert us to illegal fireworks is greatly appreciated.”

In 2004, the latest year statistics are available from the U.S. Product Safety Commission (CPSC), there were eight (8) deaths associated with fireworks. That figure includes one 45-year-old California male attending a Fourth of July block party. Several individuals apparently assembled a homemade device from the contents of several consumer fireworks and then ignited the fuse. Shrapnel from the explosive device traveled about 70-feet and struck the victim in the chest. He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

CPSC reported an estimated 9,600 injuries were treated at hospital emergency rooms in the United States during calendar year 2004 involving fireworks. About 7,300 occurred in the period just before and during the Independence Day celebrations.

The agency's annual report on fireworks accident shows about three times as many males were injured as females, 40 percent of the total fireworks-related injuries were to children under 15 and hands being the most often injured body parts (2,200), followed by eyes (1,400 injuries) and the head, face and ears (1,400).

FIRE RESTRICTIONS

Within the past few days, the U.S. Forest Service issued a news release outlining new fire use restrictions and guidelines, including:

n Wood and charcoal fires are only permitted in designated fire rings at developed sites (campgrounds, picnic areas and yellow post sites).

n California campfire permits are required for all fires at yellow post sites (wood, charcoal and propane/gas stoves). Permits are available at the Ranger Station on Highway 18 in Skyforest.

n Recreational shooting is limited to designated sites, and locations operated under special use permit only (except those engaged in legal hunting).

n An approved spark arrester is required for any internal combustion engine operated off state or county highways or designated forest roads. These include chain saws, generators, motorcycles and off-highway vehicles.

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