The Camas City Council could soon consider an ordinance that would reduce the number of hours citizens can legally discharge fireworks during the Fourth of July season.
During Monday’s workshop, council members’ discussion focused on implementing a change that would allow discharge of fireworks only on July 4, while the sale of fireworks, which often benefits non-profit organizations, would continue to be permitted for several days.
“It just seems like a matter of time before more houses burn down,” said Councilman Steve Hogan. “There are some out of control people. That’s not the rule; that’s the exception. But if you happen to be near the exception, it’s not a fun Fourth of July. I would like us to find a way to deal with that.”
Currently, within city limits fireworks can be discharged July 1 through July 4. They can be sold July 1 through July 5.
Two of the jurisdictions immediately surrounding Camas — Washougal and Vancouver — currently allow fireworks to be discharged only on July 4. Clark County’s unincorporated areas will follow suit beginning in 2016.
Camas resident Joan Schiller told the City Council that large mortars could be heard going off in her neighborhood, frightening her children and pets. She describes it as a safety issue.
“Four days of fireworks is not reasonable,” she said. “I am simply asking for reasonable. When we have other municipalities that are slowing it down or stopping it, all that is going to do is increase it coming into our community.”
Two representatives of the Camas High School Drug- and Alcohol-Free Graduation Night organization committee voiced support for allowing fireworks.
Each year Mean Gene Fireworks, a stand operated by Gene Marlow, donates approximately $6,000 of its revenues to support the party, which is attended by roughly 80 percent of the graduates.
Marlow also employs high school and college students to work at the stand, and others volunteer their time.
Marlow said he is in favor of limiting the discharge of fireworks to one day.
“It would be reasonable to go to maybe one day on the Fourth of July,” he said. “I think that is a good compromise. We are not going to please everybody, no matter what we do. I truly believe that most people like to have that ability to celebrate the Fourth of July with fireworks.”
The sale of fireworks, he added, provides him an avenue to support local youth.
“I do try to give back to the community,” he said. “I would like to be able to continue to do that.”
Due to the unseasonably hot weather leading up to Independence Day, Camas-Washougal Fire Chief Nick Swinart said the fire department received several calls from citizens questioning why fireworks weren’t banned. He explained that the city’s code does not currently contain the language necessary to give local officials the authority to do so.
“We don’t have the ability to do something last minute,” Swinhart said. “The forest could be burning down around us, and there is nothing we could do because the code says we can’t do anything about it.”
That’s something Hogan would like to see changed.
“There should be some control for the fire chief to say, enough is enough we’ve got to stop it right now. There is danger here,” he said.
Overall, Swinhart described this year’s Fourth of July fireworks season as “quiet.”
“I think that’s probably because the people in our community realized how dry it was,” he said. “They read the things in the paper. They saw it on the news. A lot of people exercised self-discretion in deciding not to set off fireworks, because they knew it could be unsafe depending on where they lived.”
From July 1 through July 7, seven fires — nearly all blazes involving natural vegetation — were directly attributed to fireworks or undetermined and therefore identified as potentially caused by fireworks.
Councilman Tim Hazen echoed the sentiments of his fellow city councilors.
“I think fireworks are an important part of the celebration of our holiday,” he said. “I don’t ever want to see them banned, unless it came down to a specific issue that came up that year. I agree that the sales on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th are prudent, and that discharge on the 4th is appropriate.”
Swinhart said fire department staff would draft proposed ordinances for the city council to consider at a future meeting. If the changes to the city’s current fireworks ordinance are approved, state law dictates that it would take one year from the date for the adjustments go into effect.
