Safe fireworks zones set up outside the Las Vegas Valley

By Mary Manning

Wednesday, July 2, 2008 | 3:12 p.m.

For those planning to set off fireworks this Friday, there are two safe sites to sizzle, crackle and pop outside the Las Vegas Valley.

Clark County and Las Vegas Fire Departments as well as Metro Police are working to keep illegal fireworks out of the valley this year, said Scott Allison, public information officer of the Clark County Fire Department.

"Last year we confiscated tons of illegal fireworks," Allison said.

If illegal fireworks injures people or damages property, the person who set them off is financially responsible for the damages, Allison said.

But the National Fire Protection Association says that 85 percent of all injuries are caused by "safe and sane" fireworks. Even sparklers that sizzle at more than 1,000 degrees can spark fires or set children's clothing on fire, the association says.

From 2001 to 2005 six people each year died from fireworks, the association says. In 2006, the last year with available statistics, 9,200 people were injured with no deaths reported.

Alamo Fireworks, Inc., is launching a new site this year in Amargosa Valley where people can purchase fireworks and shoot them off in a safe area. Amargosa Valley is northwest of Las Vegas north of Pahrump. The Web site is:

www.alamofireworks.com.

A second safe site for purchasing and firing up firecrackers is the shop off Interstate 15, exit 75, operated by the Moapa Paiute Reservation. The tribe also offers as safe site for shooting them off.