Several counties across the Bay Area are under a burn ban<\/a>, prohibiting the use of personal fireworks. The bans are meant to prevent outdoor fires due to dry conditions.<\/p>\nIn Polk County, the burn ban hasn\u2019t stopped the buying and selling of fireworks. Officials say some people may still set them off, but they\u2019re urging everyone to keep safety in mind.<\/p>\n
Resident Jay Schumacher said he knows firsthand how important it is to celebrate the New Year with caution.<\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially with the Boy Scouts being in our background, we want to have fun, but we also want to be responsible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Schumacher said taking that responsibility seriously is something he\u2019s instilled in his son, Andrew. He said they wouldn\u2019t have stopped by a local fireworks stand on Wednesday this year without taking certain precautions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe both know how to work with fire. We set up a table in our backyard, we have a bucket of water, we use eye protection, and we use a lighter with a long tip so we\u2019re backed off,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Schumacher also said they live miles away from other homes. At Polk County Fire Rescue, Chief Shawn Smith strongly encourages residents to think about their neighbors\u2019 well-being.<\/p>\n
\u201cFireworks shoot off, they go up in the air, and you don\u2019t know where they\u2019ll drift. The wind can carry them three or four houses down or into an open field, and eventually we\u2019ll get a phone call,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
To prevent brush fires and wildfires, Smith recommends families attend professional firework shows. As for Schumacher, he plans to hold his own celebration on his property but said he understands why that isn\u2019t the right choice for everyone.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s easy to get carried away,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Along with fireworks, the burn ban also prohibits:<\/p>\n
Campfires
\nBonfires
\nUnpermitted controlled burns
\nBurning of yard and household trash
\nBurning of organic debris
\nNoncommercial burning of materials, other than for religious or ceremonial purposes, that is not contained in a barbecue grill or pit, with a total fuel area no larger than 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet in height<\/p>\n
Anyone who violates the burn ban in Polk County can face a fine of up to $500.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BARTOW, Fla. \u2014 If you\u2019ve already bought fireworks for New Year\u2019s Eve festivities, you may want to hold…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":101737,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[23076,2967,274,115,1911,277,135,137,136,278,835],"class_list":["post-101736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-alexis-jones","tag-app-public-safety","tag-app-top-stories","tag-news","tag-polk-county","tag-public-safety","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-top-stories","tag-vod"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101736\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}