Illegal fireworks started disrupting our normally peaceful beach community in Oxnard Shores before Memorial Day this year. That is a troubling sign for what residents can expect in the months ahead.
For many of us, summer means nightly explosions stretching from Memorial Day through Labor Day with little meaningful enforcement. I’m not just referring to the activity around the Fourth of July. I’m talking about fireworks going off practically every night throughout the summer.
This is not just a noise issue. It is a public safety and fire danger issue.
Across California, residents are being asked to help create fire-safe communities by clearing brush, hardening homes, and reducing fire risks. Yet in Oxnard, illegal fireworks continue night after night despite existing laws. Penalties accomplish very little if they are not enforced, which has been the reality here for years.
Veterans, seniors, families with young children, wildlife, and pets all suffer due to these constant explosions. My own therapy dogs, who visit local schools to comfort children, are terrified by the blasts.
I have spent years trying to get the city to address this issue, yet nothing seems to make a meaningful difference. Residents should not have to endure months of ongoing illegal activity while feeling powerless to stop it. Taxpayers deserve enforcement of existing laws and proactive action before another tragedy occurs.
Over the years, fireworks have caused house fires, serious injuries, deaths, the loss of beloved pets and service animals, and lifelong trauma for veterans and families.
Continuing to allow illegal fireworks to go largely unchecked puts both people and animals at unnecessary risk.
How many more summers are residents expected to simply tolerate this?
Susan Hartzler, Oxnard
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Enforce illegal fireworks law | Letter
Reporting by Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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