All personal fireworks are banned in the Lake Tahoe Basin

Personal use fireworks are illegal to use or possess in the Lake Tahoe Basin, including sparklers and so-called “safe and sane” fireworks. As you enjoy your holiday, leave fireworks to the professionals by attending one of the many public displays around Lake Tahoe.

The Lake Tahoe ban on personal use fireworks comes with good reason, fireworks are dangerous and cause thousands of emergency room visits per year. Sparklers alone, which burn at 1200 degrees Fahrenheit, caused 41 percent of firework related injuries in 2013. The extreme heat produced by the incendiary and explosive chemicals in fireworks also start fires, and cause an average of 20,000 reported fires per year. This summer, local firefighting units have already responded to multiple vegetation fires caused by illegal fireworks.

Lake Tahoe is celebrating Wildfire Awareness Month, and residents and visitors are doing their part to become more fire-adapted. This fire season, observe fire restrictions by not lighting campfires or charcoal fires outside of developed campgrounds, by properly extinguishing cigarettes in designed receptacles, and by leaving the fireworks to the professionals. One less spark means one less Tahoe fire.

For more information about Lake Tahoe Wildfire Awareness Month, see the Living with Fire in Lake Tahoe website at www.tahoe.livingwithfire.info.