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Independence Day and fireworks – they go about as well together as peas and carrots or cereal and milk.
But don’t count on colorful, explosive night skies in the Tri-parishes.
Unless, of course, if you’re in Lafourche Parish.
Then one may pop till they drop.
Lafourche remains the only local parish where fireworks are able to legally be possessed and distributed during the Fourth of July holiday season.
That parish’s laws differ from Terrebonne and St. Mary, where possession or sale of the explosives could warrant one with a steep fine and/or a couple of weeks in jail.
Even with fireworks green-flagged, Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre said he urges caution to those planning to light up the skies within the parish.
The sheriff warned the public that it is illegal for anyone under the age of 10 to purchase fireworks. Those intoxicated or impaired are also banned by law from purchasing the poppers.
Webre also warned that all vendors must be permitted within the parish and that deputies will be on patrol to make sure sellers have proper licensing.
He added that it is illegal to pop fireworks within 1,000 feet of a church, hospital or public school and that it is also unlawful to pop within 75 feet of where fireworks are sold.
“We encourage everyone to celebrate this Fourth of July holiday,” Webre said in a news release. “We simply ask that you do it in a way that does not endanger yourself and others around you.”
While Lafourche pops away during today’s holiday, Terrebonne and St. Mary remain firework free.
The Houma Police Department sent out a reminder to citizens this week in regard to the illegality of fireworks.
The release stated that in previous years, officers would not specifically search for fireworks because they needed to be free to investigate other incidents.
But because of drought conditions, extra officers will be on patrol this Fourth of July to create a “zero tolerance” situation.
“My preference is that we don’t see any fireworks within the city limits of Houma,” Police Chief Todd M. Duplantis said in a release. “There’s a lot more density, there’s a lot less open land … making it difficult to set off fireworks safely within the city limits.”
Anyone convicted of setting off fireworks illegally can be sentenced to 30 days in jail and/or fined up to $500.
In St. Mary, a small sliver of land is annually opened up to fireworks.
That is the Charenton area because it is a federal reservation on federal land.
The remainder of the parish is firework-free with similar penalties existing for offenders.
Webre said he has a list of safety tips for those using fireworks today:
• Never let a child under the age of 12 play with sparklers without adult supervision
• Never let a child hold more than one lit sparkler at a time
• Always have a bucket of water nearby for all fireworks use
• Sparkler wires remain hot long after they go out. Be sure to discard all used sparklers in a bucket of water
• Never let a child run with a lit sparkler
• Be sure to show a child how to properly hold the sparkler at arms length
• Always hand the unlit sparkler to a child first, then light it
• Light all fireworks outside
Authorities also on the lookout for drunk driving
While authorities try and fight off fireworks in the area, they will also aggressively try and keep drunk drivers off local roads.
Lafourche Parish will hold a DWI checkpoint tonight in the northern portion of the parish to try and weed out drivers who are impaired.
LPSO spokesman deputy Brennan Matherne added that additional officers will be on patrol to try and keep roadways safe.
“These checkpoints are just one of the ways through which we are putting traffic safety at the forefront in order to protect our citizens on our local highways,” Webre said. “We want everyone to have a fun, safe holiday, and therefore, our deputies will be out in force throughout this holiday period to ensure we are keeping impaired drivers off the streets.”
HPD also plans to crack down on unsafe driving today and will host its “Drive Sober or get Pulled Over” effort in which it will seek to catch impaired driving.
“Too many people die behind the wheel each year due to those who choose to drive after drinking,” Duplantis said. “So our officers will be out in full force this Fourth of July showing zero tolerance for impaired drivers.”
Louisiana State Police Troop C agreed and said it will partner with local efforts to make sure drivers make “responsible decisions” today.
Andrew Pellegrin (left) and Trey Weems survey the shelves inside the selling tent at Loco Joes Fireworks in Galliano during the last Fourth of July season. In Lafourche, fireworks are flying off the shelves, but in Terrebonne and St. Mary, the sale of fireworks is banned.
