RALEIGH – Officials with the N.C. Forest Service encourage people to celebrate Independence Day by viewing public fireworks displays rather than risk starting fires by setting off their own fireworks.
“Many wildfires that occur during this time of the year start due to the careless use of Class C fireworks such as sparklers, fountains, glow worms, smoke devices and trick noisemakers,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “With many free fireworks shows planned across the state, there are a lot of options for enjoying the July 4th holiday that reduce the risk to our forestlands and personal property.”
If using your own fireworks, here are some safety tips:
- Don’t use fireworks such as ground spinners, firecrackers, round spinners, Roman candles, bottle rockets and mortars, which are not legal in North Carolina.
- Do not use fireworks near woods or any combustible material.
- Make sure fireworks are always used with adult supervision.
- Follow the instructions provided with the fireworks.
- Do not use under the influence of alcohol.
- Always use in a large, open, and preferably, paved area or near a body of water.
- Have a rake or shovel and a bucket or two of water on hand.
- Monitor the area for several hours after use.
Exercising care in residential areas in wooded locations is also important, said State Forester David Lane.
“In addition to taking measures to use fireworks safely, campfires or grills should never be left unattended and should never be started with gasoline,” Lane said.
It is also important when disposing of ashes to never put them in a paper bag or other flammable container, but to instead place them in an outside metal container or bury them in mineral soil in your garden. If you live in an area with organic soils, however, keep in mind that peat can catch fire, Lane said. Never store ashes in your garage, on your deck or in a wooded area. Double-check ashes and coals before throwing them away to make sure they won’t start a fire.
For more information on fire safety, contact your county ranger or Brian Haines, NCFS public information officer, at 919-857-4828, or go to www.ncfirewise.org or http://ncforestservice.gov.
Well you have to give it to good ole’ Vance County…..where else in the USA do you have one of the highest unemployment %’s in the state, more Section 8 Housing, high teen pregnancy rate, poor performing schools, & high # of govt. owned apartments and to top it all off………$6 to go into a State Park & watch the July 4th fireworks!!! Never before have citizens and people who wanted to enjoy the Fireworks @ Satterwhite Point had to pay for this event. Gotta hand it to Vance County…..when all else fails…..raise sewer rates, water rates, sanitation rates, & start charging for something that has always been free. Do you not raise enough $$$ from the vendors? I bet the # of people who go this year is substantially lower than in years past. Way to go Vance County!!! Whoever is running this event needs to think twice about charging a fee to watch…….the kids in your community deserve better.
Vance County Tourism puts on the fireworks display at the lake. They were required by NCDENR, who operates the park, to charge for parking this year, $6 a car and no shuttle buses from downtown. Surely there were fewer people able to watch them and surely there were fewer criminal incidents, which have been a problem in the past. Crime is down at the park in general since cars have been required to pay to get in. It is a nice facility that our tax dollars have paid for and then we have to pay again to get in but the results are positive. So don’t blame the County for the new fee, but maybe the County should look at hiring a band from the local area for the event and tourism should provide the newspaper with better pictures and information about the lake for their feature sections. The last 3 cover pictures for the lake tabs have been beyond awful and contain very little interesting information. Couldn’t the tattooed guy on the July 4th cover have at least had an American flag somewhere on his body?
Dagny…..so b/c a few bad apples who don’t follow the law is justification to charge $$$ to go see an event that children look forward to & has always been free? Did you & the Tourism folks forget that Kerr Lake lies in a Tier 1 county? So the kids are punished once again for decisions that the rich folks made? Why didn’t some of the rich business owners put up some $$ to cover the fees so that the Tier 1 kids could enjoy the 4th of July fireworks? Simple answer is that most don’t care until these kids get bored & start tagging or vandalizing their properties. Vance County’s leadership is so self-serving that until you remove all of them you will con’t to be a Tier 1 county!! By the way….that’s not something to be proud of!! But as long as your ego is stroked & you feel important….b/c it seems like most of them only care about their businesses & families…..i.e. Mike Inscoe & the apartments over businesses downtown that got taxpayer $$$ to fix em up…..& those apartments were in Mike’s daughters name!!! Hence the self-serving attitude!!! Prove me wrong!!