Lighting the Sky

There’s only one official July 4 fireworks display in Nashua, NH. It caps off a full day of events at historic Holman Stadium, a local baseball field. In previous years, we've joined neighbors at nearby Renaissance Park to watch them. But, this year, the holiday ended on a hot and humid night, so we watched the display from our apartment. It started about 9:15 pm.

Despite the heat, we did see that folks had gathered in the nearby park and along the riverwalk. This photo was also taken from our apartment window.

Admittedly, I don't have good results when photographing fireworks. This time, I took videos with my cell phone, then extracted some screen shots. The smokestack could have been removed afterwards, but these are SOOC (straight out of camera).

To varying degrees, certain types of fireworks are legal in 49 states, plus Washington, D.C. 

Yet, you wouldn’t know that from national sales for Fourth of July fireworks which were up in many places this year, including in New England. The state of New Hampshire ranks 12th in U.S. fireworks sales per capita and is the leader in New England. The absence a state sales tax pulls in cross-border traffic from neighboring states.

At Phantom Fireworks in Hinsdale, NH, the holiday’s top spender was from Massachusetts and checked out a cart filled with over $6,000 in fireworks. Other shoppers averaged between $500 and $800.

Four U.S. states have a ban on the sale of consumer fireworks: Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Delaware. Vermont and Illinois have strict laws too. In those states, only sparklers and "novelty" smoke devices can be sold to the general public. 

The states of Indiana, Missouri and Wyoming have some of the most lenient fireworks laws in the U.S. allowing nearly all types of consumer fireworks (including aerial and explosive devices) with minimal restrictions on their sale and use, although city and county ordinances may apply.

Did you know that Missouri is the top state in setting off the most fireworks in the U.S in total volume and per capita? Other states with the highest per capita firework usage are Nebraska, Kansas, Alabama and South Carolina. Lower population density and relaxed state laws generally drive these higher volume numbers. In contrast, states with dense populations and high wildfire risks like California (or those with total consumer firework bans) set off far less.

Your turn — Did you watch any fireworks displays in your area?