Most fireworks are illegal in Colorado, but you wouldn't know it if you've ever stood atop Ruby Hill on the Fourth of July. From there, any observer can see that the surrounding neighborhoods — nay, the whole city — erupt with color and flame on the big day. People who live nearby know the chorus of booms and bangs have been growing as the holiday inches closer.
A Denverite reader wrote to us, requesting we ask the Denver Police Department why there isn't more enforcement on this issue. DPD sent us some data that confirms enforcement is low this time of year.
The department issued only four citations between June 15th and July 6th in 2023, and zero so far this year, as of Tuesday. 2017 was the top enforcement year in the numbers they shared, with 57 citations. These could be for anything from selling illegal explosives to just possessing them.
In contrast, 311 data shows the city can get as many as 417 complaints about fireworks in a single day — that was the case in 2022.
DPD says they don't really want to cite anyone, but they invite you to complain better if you're bothered.
Jay Casillas, a department spokesperson, said there are "different challenges" that might explain lower enforcement numbers.
"The large number of calls for service often do not provide much information to help officers locate the offender. A complainant, in many cases, is also required to be a witness that signs the complaint of the fireworks use and many are unwilling to do that. This makes it difficult for an officer to issue a citation, because if they do not witness the person lighting the firework, they cannot issue a citation," he wrote us in an email. "Additionally, many complaints are not addressed due to the fact that officers are responding to other calls."
Yes, he confirmed, police usually have bigger fish to fry while the entire city parties around them.
"We try to address the fireworks complaints, but other calls might be more urgent and require more immediate police response," he said.
But Casillas also told us that officers try not to issue tickets.
"When it comes to possession, officers work to gain voluntary compliance from individuals. If they relinquish the fireworks, they are usually not cited," he wrote.
Still, he said DPD invites anyone to complain. They just want you to provide more information if you do.
"Provide as much information possible, without compromising safety, to help us address this issue as well," he wrote. "We also encourage people to report illegal sales of fireworks in the city. Such investigations have led to large confiscations of fireworks in the past, which have kept them out of the hands of celebrants."
Besides the legality issue, local authorities held a recent press conference to explain why you should try to keep these things off the streets. Basically, you could blow yourself up or start a fire. The barrage of explosions also tends to cause air pollution to seriously spike.
JD Chism, spokesperson for Denver Fire, said he's hoping you just won't light off any explosives. But if you must, he said, be careful when you're cleaning up. His colleagues respond to garbage fires every year, after people toss hot sparklers and ashes into dumpsters.
"Leave them to the professionals," he pled.
