HAMILTON COUNTY -
Hamilton County has banned all fireworks and open burning due to the ongoing drought. The county has also issued a burn ban.
State law prohibits bans on fireworks from June 28 to July 5, but that has never been challenged. County administrators are declaring an emergency due to the lack of rain and excessive heat. In the county declaration, officials say the law allows them to declare a ban during an emergency disaster.
The ban, which is in effect for the next seven days (unless it's extended) includes the following:
No person shall cause, permit, or allow open burning on any property located within the County.
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any fireworks as defined in Indiana Code 22-11-14.
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged into the air or ground at any location within the County, any device or mechanism which has an open flame attached or included as any part of the device.
Public fireworks displays permitted or sponsored by the county will still go on, provided they've been approved by the fire chief in the municipality. Firefighters will be on standby for those displays.
Anyone violating the ban commits a class B misdemeanor and could be fined. The use of gas and charcoal grills is still permitted.
The ban puts a wrench in the holiday plans for Joe Loomis and his Carmel neighbors. Every July 4, Loomis puts on one of the best fireworks shows in town.
"I think that Joe's fireworks display rivals the City of Carmel's," said Anthony Aschoti.
The retired school teacher spends an entire year collecting hundreds of colorful combustibles for his 45-minute show.
"It's become quite a neighborhood tradition. Our family looks forward to it every year," Aschoti said.
But this year, his stash won't make it past the garage door because of the ban.
"We believe it's in the best interest of public safety to ban these items in order to protect the public," said Hamilton County Sheriff Mark Bowen.
Hours before that declaration, the Fishers Fire Department banned all public fireworks displays, due to the dangerously dry conditions.
"We realize the livelihoods of people depend...in the fireworks industry, it's important to them. But at the same time, we have to manage the risk to our communities, so if we're given a choice, we're going to manage the risk to our communities first," said Fishers Fire Chief Steven Orusa.
That means the fireworks show for Symphony on the Prairie has also been canceled. The biggest concern for their location is the hundreds of acres of prairie grass behind the amphitheater.
"So setting off fireworks could ignite that, so we just want to be safe. Safety is our first concern," said Lynelle Mellady at Connor Prairie.
Ironically, Loomis is on his way home from Colorado, where wildfires rage out of control. He and his neighbors appreciate the ban, but "just want to know when we can dispose of these properly. Hopefully up in the sky," Aschoti said.
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