Cloverdale fireworks ban rejected

An urgency ordinance to ban fireworks in Cloverdale, proposed as a result of the numerous wildfires in Northern California and the possibility of sparking a blaze closer to home, fizzled and died Monday.

The measure would have immediately banned the personal use of fireworks, including for this Friday’s Fourth of July, but it proved to be somewhat of a dud politically.

“It’s not safe and sane (fireworks), but illegal fireworks out there that are causing all the problems,” said Councilman Gus Wolter, reflecting the council consensus to allow some fireworks in Cloverdale and not ban all of them, the way Santa Rosa and other cities have done in recent years.

In response to discussions with Cloverdale fire officials last week, the city attorney drew up an ordinance that would have implemented an immediate ban on the “use, discharge and explosion of safe and sane fireworks within the city.”

Council members were not comfortable with the proposal, saying it was too rushed, although they agreed there is a need to stiffen fines for illegal fireworks.

Last week, as hundreds of wildfires cast a smoky pall over much of the state, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger urged Californians not to buy fireworks, saying it was just too dry and dangerous.

But he stopped short of declaring a state of emergency and imposing a statewide ban on fireworks sales.

A minority of Sonoma County’s cities allow the use and sale of legal fireworks. They include Cloverdale, Rohnert Park, Sebastopol and some designated areas of Petaluma.

Two Cloverdale nonprofit groups, the Lions Club and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, told the City Council they have depended for many years on the sale of fireworks to fund their activities.

“For over three decades, we’ve been doing this,” said Doug Laurice, president of the Cloverdale Lions Club, who explained that profits are redirected back into the community to fund youth athletics, scholarships, 4-H programs and other activities.

Estimates are that the groups raise about $25,000 total from the sale of fireworks. \

Only Councilman Joe Palla was in favor of moving quickly to ban fireworks, citing the injuries and fires caused nationwide by so-called safe and sane fireworks, even sparklers.

“Fireworks in my view are a thing of the past,” he said.

“The dangers outweigh the benefits.”

The council heard from a number of residents, some of whom said the tinder dry conditions and scarce water supplies made it too risky to allow fireworks. Others said there have been droughts and extreme fire danger in the past and fireworks sales have not caused a problem in Cloverdale.

Laurice said the language of the proposed ordinance was confusing in that it did not prohibit sales, just the use and discharge of the fireworks.

Fire Chief Brian Elliott said that he was not urging a ban on fireworks as mistakenly stated in the recitals to the proposed ordinance, although he did want the council to weigh the issue in the wake of the hundreds of wildfires sparked by lightning last week.

He said the nonprofit groups agreed last week to a shortened sales period by postponing the commencement of sales until today and ending them after the holiday.

“We were concerned more than anything with our staffing levels and the fires we were having in the state. We did not want to have a 14-day selling period. We told them we’d like to have it reduced, and they agreed,” Elliott said.

He said the nonprofits have been cooperative in the past, including three years ago when the fire district asked them to discontinue sales of certain types of legal fireworks, Piccolo Petes and Ground Blooms, associated with arson fires.

He said the bigger problem is cracking down on illegal fireworks, such as bottle rockets.

“We have a huge problem with illegals and have fires created by illegals,” he said.

The fire chief acknowledged that a ban on all fireworks would make it easier for authorities, but before any changes are made, he and the council agreed, there should be further dialogue.

You can reach Staff Writer Clark Mason at 521-5214 or clark.mason@pressdemocrat.com.