Elliott letter: Ban fireworks
The use of fireworks is very dangerous, beyond question. Mixed with alcohol or drugs, as is too often the case, and the use of fireworks is even more dangerous. Add in dry summer weather, and our arid to semi-arid climate, and there are fires like we had last summer near Table Rock. Legislation simply must be passed this year banning the sale of all fireworks. With the Table Rock fire fresh in everyone’s memory — the smoke that filled the air for weeks, the loss of a home, the charred landscape above our city, it is imperative to do something now to end this destruction. Do lives have to be lost like the 61 people in Portugal? More homes burned to the ground? The City of Boise and all of the surrounding communities should pass a law banning the sale and use of all fireworks with the exception of those used in a public fireworks display. The City of Reno, Nev., has a total ban of the sale and use of all fireworks. To protect our community and those who live here, a law like theirs needs to be passed now.
Barbara Elliott, Boise
This story was originally published June 28, 2017 at 3:56 PM with the headline "Elliott letter: Ban fireworks."