Boulder County may be wetter than normal this Fourth of July, but law enforcement agencies all across the county agree that choosing to use illegal fireworks is still dangerous.
Many cities such as Erie are actually seeing less complaint calls regarding illegal fireworks. Erie spokesperson Amber Luttrell said the department is actually down from seven complaint calls in 2022 to three this year during the week leading up to the Fourth of July holiday.
But still, Luttrell cautioned there are other dangers associated with illegal fireworks beyond the potential for fire dangers.
"Injuries and structure fires don't correlate with weather," Luttrell said. "Fireworks are illegal for more reasons than just starting grass fires."
Complaint calls for Boulder are also lower than normal leading up to the holiday, but Boulder police spokesperson Dionne Waugh said that despite the state no longer being in a drought, "fireworks are still illegal in the city of Boulder."
Longmont only received its first complaint on Monday, a significant difference after 38 calls were received last year between June 27 to 29.
Dispatch Supervisor Jamie Lamar echoed Waugh's and Luttrell's sentiment about an unusually rainy season bearing no weight on the concern for the use of illegal fireworks.
Lamar added that for the second year in a row, Longmont will offer a hotline for people to report illegal fireworks at 303-774-4371.
Last year, the fireworks hotline fielded 271 calls from July 1 to 4, with the vast majority coming in on Independence Day, according to Lamar.
Between June 27 and July 7 last year, zero citations were issued for illegal fireworks in Longmont. Unless a caller provides the exact address of where the fireworks are being launched, it is difficult for officers to issue a citation, Lamar said. This year, the fireworks hotline will accept calls on July 3 and 4 from 8 p.m. to midnight.
The Boulder County Sheriff's Office also reported seeing lower numbers, with only 140 calls for June within all dispatched agencies. Though that number is expected to increase, it's still considerably down from the 205 received last year and the 329 calls in 2021.
Carrie Haverfield, spokesperson for the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, said that while the weather conditions don't currently meet the thresholds required for fire restrictions, officers are always concerned about potential fires.
She added that there is also always concern for the safety of those lighting fireworks.
"The fireworks that are illegal in Colorado are often the type that have increased risk of injury to those lighting them," Haverfield said. "For all these reasons, we recommend that people leave the fireworks to the professionals and attend a local fireworks show."
Lafayette is the only city to report seeing a slight uptick, with 13 calls last year compared to 16 complaints this year. Lafayette Deputy Chief Brian Rosipajla said he expects that number to increase closer to the Fourth as that's when the department typically receives the majority of complaints.
"So far calls have been about consistent with last year for the most part," Rosipajla said. "As we know any type of fire can start anytime, so we want everyone to be safe, no matter how much it rains; we want people to be cautious."
Louisville has received no fireworks calls at all so far. Scott Moore, Louisville public information officer and crime prevention specialist, said that while it is typical for the city to receive calls leading up to the holiday, as of Wednesday no calls had been received.
Moore attributed that to the conscious concerns of the community.
"If the calls are going to happen, they'll pick up over the weekend, but I wouldn't say it's abnormal not to get so many complaints," Moore said. "I think that our community is very concerned about the use of fireworks, they take it seriously, so we haven't experienced an increase in use at all."
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