Boise firefighters had a busy 4th of July holiday. Calls to blazes sparked by fireworks – or otherwise – doubled from 2017, according to city officials.
Since Tuesday, the Boise Fire Department has responded to 18 separate fires – 10 of which they believe were caused by fireworks. Reports are still coming in, so those numbers may increase. In 2017, the department investigated nine fires, four of which they say were started by fireworks.
Last week, Fire Chief Dennis Doan made it clear that he would push for charges against anyone causing a fire with illegal fireworks.
Under Idaho law, you’re not allowed to light off aerial fireworks that explode high in the sky, but some vendors still sell them – requiring a buyer to sign an affidavit that they won’t use them within the state.
Doan also suggested he’d target vendors who sell illegal fireworks that eventually spark a fire for prosecution, but it’s unclear how the department could trace these fireworks, according to the Statesman.
Officials from the Bureau of Land Management also reported six wildfires on Independence Day – all of them believed to be caused by humans.
One of them burning southwest of Mountain Home Airforce Base has charred more than 2,000 acres and it’s unknown when BLM firefighters will have it contained. Each of them remain under investigation.
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