La Crosse working to limit the use of illegal fireworks

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WEAU) - As the Fourth of July approaches, City officials in La Crosse are trying to cut down on the number of illegal fireworks that are used throughout the community.

Since Independence Day celebrations normally include large displays of fireworks, the holiday is quite a busy time for the La Crosse Police Department.

“Typically, around the Fourth of July, we do see an uptick in calls for service regarding fireworks complaints,” said Capt. Avrie Schott. “They’re easily accessible, there’s more locations that are selling the fireworks in the area.”

While police normally respond to dozens of fireworks complaints each year, 2021 in particular saw an unusually large amount.

“I’m not sure if it just was pent up anticipation of being able to get out in public again, but we had a tremendous number of calls last year,” recalled La Crosse Mayor Mitch Reynolds. “A lot of people were just really anxious about the constant explosions, and it wasn’t just a little bit during the evening, it was through the night, 2:00, 3:00 in the morning.”

La Crosse police responded to a total of 251 calls for service involving fireworks last year, with the majority of them taking place around July 4th.

Reynolds says the City has been discussing ways to limit those calls, many of which revolve around the use of illegal fireworks, which are ones that explode or leave the ground.

Along with launching an educational campaign about the negative affects fireworks can have on certain people, the fine for using illegal fireworks has also been increased.

“Frankly, I don’t want to write any tickets at all, but if we can dissuade people from using illegal fireworks by saying look, if you do, it’s $502, then we’re going to take that route,” Reynolds said.

The types of fireworks that are allowed to be used in the city include sparklers, toy snakes, stationary fountains, and smoke bombs.

Even though those smaller fireworks may be less dangerous than the ones that leave the ground, Schott says safety precautions should still be taken.

“Our young kids in the community, they’re really excited about fireworks, they’re really excited to hold that sparkler,” Schott expressed. “We need to make sure we’ve got that responsible adult assisting them, and maybe have a bucket of water net to you if you’re going to be using the sparklers in the backyard.”

Schott says the police department will have extra staff patrolling the city this weekend to watch out for illegal fireworks.

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