City crews in Emporia and Cottonwood Falls spent Sunday preparing for fireworks on the Third of July.
Emporia's annual Independence Day show will begin around 9:45 p.m. Sunday. The west side of Welch Stadium will open at 7 p.m. for seating, or viewers can sit on Jones Field with blankets.
Don't expect people with boxes full of matchbooks to do the firing. Large modern fireworks shows are computerized, with rockets launched by clicking a button or a switch.
Tailgating is permitted in Emporia State University parking lots, but personal fireworks are not.
The Cottonwood Falls fireworks fest will begin around dusk in Swope Park.
If you'd rather do it yourself, there's one night a year when Lyon County residents can stay up late to shoot off fireworks.
But Sunday night is not that night, even though Monday is a holiday.
The Lyon County Sheriff's Office notes fireworks can be discharged until 10 p.m. Sunday and Tuesday. The night with a midnight curfew is Monday night.
The rules inside Emporia city limits are different. The fire department allows discharges until 11 p.m. Sunday and Monday nights. The city also has a 10 p.m. curfew Tuesday.
Lyon County authorities posted a lengthy list of illegal fireworks on social media.
“Bottle rockets, sky lanterns, Kongming lanterns, other uninhabited free-floating devices which include flame or another heating device to act as a lifting mechanism, metal sparklers,” the post said.
Non-consumer devices which require permits also are illegal in Lyon County.
Bottle rockets also are banned in Emporia, as are “sparklers with metal or unmanned aerials. “
Permission of a property owner is required to shoot fireworks in the county, including government-owned land.
Fireworks are illegal within 250 feet of hospitals or nursing homes under county rules, but 200 feet under city rules.
Emporia also outlaws fireworks inside city parks, sports fields and parking lots. The golf course, Recreation Center and David Traylor Zoo also are off-limits.
Violators in Lyon County could be fined at least $500. An additional fine cold be assessed for not cleaning up trash from spent fireworks.
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