Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler on Wednesday issued an emergency declaration that bans the sale of fireworks in the city ahead of the Independence Day holiday, citing increased fire danger and drought conditions.
The move comes comes one day after Portland Fire & Rescue announced a ban on the use of fireworks. Wheeler initially declined to ban sales, but relented Wednesday. Portland Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, who oversees the city fire department, had urged him to issue the ban.
“A decision like this doesn’t come easily but it’s imperative that we do all we can to ensure everyone’s safety,” Wheeler said in a statement. “This sales ban is another necessary measure to reduce threats posed by wildfires to the city and all who live here.”
The ban is effective immediately, though fireworks stands have already been doing business leading up to Sunday’s holiday. It is slated to remain in effect until noon on July 14.
There are 90 locations throughout the city of Portland where one could purchase fireworks, according to a city spreadsheet provided to The Oregonian/OregonLive. That includes 46 tents and stands, many of which are run by church groups and youth sports organizations. There are also 44 retail stores in the city limits that sell fireworks, including Albertsons, Bi-Mart, Fred Meyer, Target, Walmart and Safeway.
Fireworks that fly more than a foot off the ground or travel more than six feet on the ground have already been illegal everywhere in Oregon – though all Oregonians know that hasn’t stopped people from setting them off in the past.
Sparklers, rockets and other explosive bric-a-brac caused 44 fires in Portland between June 23 and July 6 last year, including 18 on July 4, city statistics show.
Oregon is in the middle of a drought, and Portland just finished a three-day record-breaking streak of high temperatures. The heat is believed to have contributed to the deaths of more than 60 people in Oregon over the past few days, include 45 deaths in Multnomah County. On Tuesday, Gov. Kate Brown declared a statewide state of emergency “due to the imminent threat of wildfire across Oregon.”
Several other metro and city agencies have banned the use of fireworks, and Clark County, Washington (home to Vancouver) has temporarily banned both the sale and use of fireworks.
-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh contributed to this report
"danger" - Google News
June 29, 2021 at 02:00PM
https://ift.tt/3AfPhb8
Portland bans sale of fireworks amid increased fire danger - OregonLive
"danger" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3bVUlF0
https://ift.tt/3f9EULr
No comments:
Post a Comment