Are fireworks allowed this year? (Austin: ordinance, rated, corporate)

[woodinvilleguy]

Originally Posted by rah62

You may have "invested" that power but I certainly haven't - but we'll just have to agree to disagree on that. That's why I vote Libertarian every single chance I get.

I've also "invested" the power for fire departments. If I understand the Libertarian doctrine only people that can afford to pay the fire department would get service. So the rich get their house protected and the poor get their house burnt to the ground.

Maybe I misunderstand the doctrine, I'm not an expert.

[Aquitaine]

Just as your setting off fireworks that can very easily and readily have an effect on lots of other people's property is infringing on individual rights.

"Individual rights" rarely exist in a vacuum. You want to set off some device that has zero possibility of setting anything on fire on your own property and it's gonna stay there, stick it to the man and do it. But if the device you're igniting a) moves b) flies and c) is on fire and we're in the middle of a drought, your right to do whatever you like on your own property is superseded by your lack of any right to burn down your neighbors'.

Travis County does a lot of dimwitted nanny-state things, but I don't think for a moment that even the most left-leaning of our elected officials think they're going to keep down the sheep by taking away their fire...particularly when they let us keep the guns.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by rah62

The ban is most certainly not a formality - it's an infringement on individual rights. My lord, has everyone turned into sheep?

PS: Looks like Williamson County lifted their restrictions last December. I was going to relocate there to stay away from the Austin bag ban, but it looks like there are other good reasons to move there as well.

1. Your location is listed as Palm Springs, CA, so I fail to see the relevance of this to your life.

2. It's an infringement on individual rights to ban all fireworks due to fire danger? Where do you see that in the Constitution?

3. You would move to another county to avoid a bag ban? Really? REALLY?

[Aquitaine]

If I understand the Libertarian doctrine only people that can afford to pay the fire department would get service

Libertarian thread hijack alert!

There is no "libertarian doctrine." Just like any other political idea, there are libertarians who are entirely comfortable with government services like police and fire and there are "get off my lawn" libertarians who don't even like those things. The difficulty with libertarianism, not unlike the tea party, is that by their nature they are not inclined to either centralized authority ("let's elect a chief libertarian") or in-your-face grandstanding because most of us sincerely don't want to bother you any more than we'd like you to bother us.

But any libertarian with half a brain knows that, just as happens with fireworks, individuals left to their own devices are quite capable of causing havoc outside their own property boundaries, and most libertarians I know are quite comfortable with local government limiting that sort of thing, especially if the limits are temporary (during a drought).

[OpenD]

Yeah, to get this back on topic, I see that the big fireworks shows we're all used to have been TENTATIVELY OK'd for this year...

Austin Symphony to perform on July 4; fireworks get preliminary OK

[BevoLJ]

I hope they have at least the DT fireworks show this year. The one OpenD linked. I really like it. I don't think it is close to as bad out there as it was last year, but I am still kinda scared of people doing lots of fireworks like in normal year. I think mostly because all those fires from last summer are still so fresh on our (my) minds.

[Acuda]

Originally Posted by rah62

you may have "invested" that power but i certainly haven't - but we'll just have to agree to disagree on that. That's why i vote libertarian every single chance i get.

[Trainwreck20]

I hope they have at least the DT fireworks show this year. The one OpenD linked. I really like it. I don't think it is close to as bad out there as it was last year, but I am still kinda scared of people doing lots of fireworks like in normal year. I think mostly because all those fires from last summer are still so fresh on our (my) minds.

I flew in over the Bastrop area recently, and besides the obviously visible fire damage, there are also a huge number of dead trees in undamaged areas. Presumably, this is due to the drought, but in any case, it provides a massive amount of fuel for any potential fire.

I will say that I was encouraged last year by the silence last year on the 4th of July. Fireworks have been illegal in the city limits from as far back as I can remember, but I always hear tons and tons of fireworks being shot off. Last year, not a single pop. To me, that says more about people caring for the neighbors and their city than any fireworks would say about the patriotism.

[mickey65]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

I will say that I was encouraged last year by the silence last year on the 4th of July. Fireworks have been illegal in the city limits from as far back as I can remember, but I always hear tons and tons of fireworks being shot off. Last year, not a single pop. To me, that says more about people caring for the neighbors and their city than any fireworks would say about the patriotism.

Well said!

And I live in a neighborhood where the 4th and NYE is like WWIII every year and last year, it was quiet - not one single pop at all. I too have caring neighbors, thankfully!

[die Eichkatze]

Originally Posted by mm57553

I know the burn ban was lifted. So does that mean that fireworks will be allowed in Travis County this year?

I don't see any reason why they wouldn't be allowed. Short term indicators like soil moisture, 30, 60, 90 day precipitation, and fuel moisture are all fine. Yes, we are still in a drought, but that is a hydrological drought and has nothing to do with the factors that need to be considered for setting off fireworks. Besides, you should always be careful and vigilant when setting of fireworks no matter the conditions, that is just common sense.
On the below website, the Keetch-Byram index is the best indicator for fire potential, and central Texas is doing just fine. Wouldn't it be nice if we could base actual decision on science instead of feelings and politics....
Texas Forest Service