Fired Up for Another Fourth

Fresh avocados and strawberries lure motorists into the makeshift markets that dot the shoulder of California 126 on summer days.

But this week--leading up to the Fourth of July--temptations like garlic-stuffed olives give way to Fire Krackles and Whistling Petes on a mile-long stretch of roadside stands that pop up just inside the city limits of Fillmore each year.

Fillmore is the only town in Ventura County that sells fireworks--one of just 89 in the state--so for families such as the Millers, with two kids and a dad equally excited about the prospect of setting off sparklers and flaming fountains, there was good reason to make the hour drive from Westlake Village on Sunday for the first day of sales.

“We’re going to make a show of it,” said David Miller, helping his 12-year-old son, Jordan, pick out which fireworks to buy. “We’ll start small. First some twirlers and then a few swirly guys for the noise. We’ll mix it up with some fountains and then hit the big ones. Maybe the Dragon Slayer for a grand finale. Last year, we did Havana Nights--that was awesome.”

Miller’s wife, Mary, and his 8-year-old daughter, Sarah, watched as he and Jordan scrutinized the fireworks display, eventually spending $50.

“Look at them,” Mary said. “I think this is more of a boy thing than a girl thing. But it’s just good fun and celebration.”

Not for everyone, though. Fireworks are controversial in normally parched Southern California, where raging wildfires can be ignited by a simple cigarette butt--or sparkler. The Ventura County Fire Department even considered suing Fillmore two years ago to recover $200,000 it spent fighting a 400-acre brush fire started by two teenagers playing with fireworks they admitted buying in that city.

But Fillmore Mayor Don Gunderson, who sold fireworks from a stand sponsored by the Rotary Club on Sunday, said the city cannot be held responsible for the actions of individuals.

“If that were the case, you could say the same thing about drunk drivers from Fillmore,” Gunderson said. “Fireworks are like anything else. If used properly, they are not dangerous.”

But they can be illegal. Fillmore, along with being the only town in the county to sell fireworks, is also the only place where it is legal to set them off. That means families that want to stay within the law would have to drive back to Fillmore to enjoy their purchases.

“We’d be naive if we didn’t think people used these fireworks elsewhere, but we encourage them to obey their own [city’s] laws,” Gunderson said, noting that in the week between noon Sunday and noon July 5, Fillmore opens its parks and public spaces for the legal use of fireworks.

“And our fire chief works very hard preaching the message of safety,” he added.

For Fire Chief Pat Askren, the Fourth of July week adds more headache to his job as he works double time supervising the sale and use of fireworks throughout the city.

“You can’t just go anywhere--like under a tree--and set them off. You have to use some common sense,” Askren said. “Just because you’re within the city limits doesn’t absolve you from the damages you might create by being irresponsible.”

Askren also said he’d rather be in the position of overseeing controlled fireworks use than having to enforce a ban that doesn’t work, while putting out the inevitable fires that black-market explosives can cause.

“I don’t like it when people get burned and hurt using fireworks improperly. But it’s like alcohol--it just gets worse if you try to stop it,” Askren said. “We don’t want the big bad rockets and M-80s. . . . We’re selling the safe and sane stuff.”

Fillmore’s week of fireworks sales will bring in more money than any other single fund-raising event during the year--as much as $250,000. The proceeds go to nonprofit groups around the city, such as Rotary and the Boys & Girls clubs, which sponsor and operate the 25 fireworks stands given permits every year.

“We could never make this much money in such a short period of time. In a city that ranks seven out of 10 in household income, this provides a way for us to carry out effective youth programs here,” Gunderson said. “And is that prostituting ourselves? I don’t think so.”

At the Lions Club booth, Mary Tipps hands out safety pamphlets with the Sunburst fountains and MX Space Lamps she sells.

“We do our best to educate and caution people, and the rest is up to them,” she said. “We take a lot of heat for it, but we help a lot of people with the money we make from this. I feel the benefits outweigh the risks.”

And besides, the mayor adds, fireworks are a fun and difficult tradition to break.

“Fireworks have always been associated with celebrations, ever since Marco Polo brought them back from China,” he said. “I’m a very big--and careful--fan.”