City Commissioners move to reduce fireworks use in city

ALAMOGORDO – City Commissioners moved forward with their plans to augment the City’s fireworks ordinance at the Commission’s regular meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 14.

The amendment was approved 7-0 for “first publication” at the meeting, with the final vote on the ordinance taking place at the Commission meeting on Sept. 11. Residents have until Sept. 11 to make comments on the proposed changes.

The proposed changes would reduce the amount of days residents are able to shoot fireworks within city limits.

According to the proposed ordinance, fireworks would be limited to July 1 to July 6 (previously June 20 to July 8), Dec. 29 to Jan. 1 (previously until Jan. 3), May 5 (previously May 2 to 7), and the three days preceding the Chinese New Year (previously the two days following as well).

Use would be restricted between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., aside from July 4 and New Year’s Eve, when the hours are extended to 1 a.m., the updated ordinance states.

All fireworks used within the city must still comply with the city’s noise ordinance and state laws governing the use and sale of fireworks, said City Attorney Petria Schreiber.

The changes to the fireworks ordinance was prompted by complaints that residents were shooting off fireworks before and after the allotted dates.

Thomas Harrison, a resident of the Tierra de Sueño subdivision, told Commissioners at their July 24 meeting that the excessive use of fireworks was a nuisance and a danger to Alamogordo residents.

“The intent of the ordinance to restrict certain types of fireworks has now proven to be an ineffective solution," Harrison said. "In my neighborhood, illegal fireworks shot 60 feet into the air, with loud explosions over and over, along with M-80 and cherry bomb firecrackers went on for several days and nights. They frighten animals, veterans with PTSD, and are a fire danger to roofs and trees.”

Harrison referenced a July 5 incident in Albuquerque in which a fire started by fireworks burned down a house, exploded a vehicle, and caused the death of the family dog.

“I hope that we don’t have to wait for an incident locally,” he said. “I don’t want to take people’s personal fun away in doing this…but I honestly believe that if we set aside logical areas where they can gather and do this, there (would be a higher) degree of safety.”

Commissioner Susan Payne agreed with Harrison and cited her own experience with neighbors and fireworks.

“They were shooting them off in our neighborhood way past the 8th, and I was getting extremely frustrated about it,” Payne said. “They were clearly out of our ordinance. You don’t want to stop anybody from having fun but there’s got to be something we can do about (it).”