International fireworks company TNT Fireworks has started a campaign to stop the flow of illegal fireworks from Nevada to California. They also want to remind people to “be responsible” and get rid of their old fireworks properly during the Fourth of July holiday.
As part of the campaign, TNT gave State Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant a report with ideas on how to stop the Silver State from selling and giving away illegal fireworks.
The Alabama-based company TNT wants tighter rules on the sale and transport of fireworks across state lines. They also want officials in the two states to work together more. These suggestions were backed by the fire marshal’s General Fireworks Advisory Committee.
Californians can easily get illegal fireworks from shops in Nevada towns like Schurz, Pyramid Lake, and Battle Mountain, which are just across the border. This was said by fireworks companies and state officials. Officials from the company said in a news release that fireworks are often bought from those stores, sometimes in large quantities, and then sold and set off in California. This has raised safety concerns because the fireworks may be more powerful and not have the “Safe and Sane” seal from California’s fire marshal.
Seven stores in Northwest Nevada and six in Pahrump, just west of Las Vegas, sell Class 1.4G consumer-grade fireworks. These are legal in the federal government but not in California, which has strict rules in part because the explosives can “increase the threat for devastating fires throughout all of California,” according to Cal Fire.
Name Giving Class 1.4G fireworks used to be called Class C “common” fireworks. The number 1.4G tells you what kind of danger it is (1 means an explosive), how dangerous it is (4 means “no significant hazard”), and what kind of explosive it is (in this case a pyrotechnic that produces effects through a combination of heat, light, sound, gas, and smoke, according to federal regulations).
According to TNT representative Dennis Revell, fireworks shops in Pahrump are the second-biggest source of income for the town. In the past, large quantities of fireworks were bought in bulk and shipped to California, which caused concern.
The news release said that each of the 38,000 people who live in Pahrump, which is pretty far away, would have to buy thousands of dollars worth of fireworks to make up for the sales made there, where it is illegal to set them off.
The business thinks that these 13 shops across the border are responsible for 60% to 70% of the illegal fireworks in the Golden State.
A report from the San Francisco grand jury in 2023–24 said that most of the explosions in the city were caused by “fireworks that are illegal in California but are for sale in the neighboring state of Nevada.”
In its study, TNT said that an interstate compact and task force could help stop the illegal flow of fireworks over I-80 and other westbound roads.
All of TNT’s stands this year are run by charity and nonprofit groups. They will hand out flyers and other information with a QR code that customers can scan to learn how to properly dispose of their fireworks after setting them off. “Let your fireworks take a bath!” was the message from TNT and fire officials.
People are told to have a bucket or bin full of water nearby so that flames can cool off before being thrown away the next day. The drive for public service will also be shown in TV ads and on social media.
TNT and fire officials want to reduce the number of fires that happen accidentally at homes and in public places by putting fireworks in water overnight in a container that won’t catch fire and making sure the fireworks are cool to the touch before throwing them away.
In the past, TNT backed Senate Bill 839 in 2007 to make fireworks safer. This bill lets local governments fine people who own or use illegal fireworks and created the “Nail’em” app so that people can report illegal fireworks behavior to the police.
It is allowed to sell state-approved fireworks in 296 California neighborhoods where TNT works with over 2,700 nonprofits during the July 4th season. This brings in $110 million for those groups.
Each part of the capital has its own rules about fireworks. For instance, it’s legal to buy and use fireworks in most of Sacramento County, including the city. The same goes for Placer County and three of its western-slope towns, as well as Yolo County and a few of its incorporated cities, but not Davis.
In the beginning of this year, Sacramento County lawmakers made it harder to set off fireworks and raised the fines for doing so in schoolyards and parks.
She said, “We’re trying to be a part of the solution.”
