Lewiston police prepare for explosive weekend

Lewiston police are planning for an explosive New Year’s Eve.

Lewiston Police Chief Budd Hurd said his department always deals with fireworks-related calls as people usher in the new year with a bang. But he expects a surge in such calls Friday night because many people had to stash their Independence Day caches after officials banned their discharge because of the extreme hot and dry conditions in late June and early July.

But setting off any type of fireworks could earn the offender a ticket, Hurd cautioned. City ordinance only allows fireworks from June 28 to July 5, meaning it will be illegal to discharge them within city limits to celebrate the new year. Any discharge of fireworks outside of that period requires a permit from the Lewiston Fire Department.

People who are caught using fireworks over the next few days will first be given a warning and some education about the ordinance, Hurd said. If the problem persists, officers can move on to issuing a citation.

“We try to use discretion,” Hurd said. “But city code is very specific that you can’t possess or discharge any fireworks, whether they’re aerial or non-aerial, except in the time allowed.”

The department always deploys a full complement of patrol officers on New Year’s Eve to deal with traffic and drunk driving issues, but Hurd said he also expects officers to be busy with fireworks complaints. If they get too many, he will reach out to the Idaho State Patrol for assistance with DUIs.

Even if his predictions do come true, Hurd said he doesn’t expect it to be a persistent problem over the weekend.

“People may light them off and be done with it,” he said. “But I know we’ll have the big boomers at midnight (New Year’s Day). We always do.”

ISP expects to be busy with DUIs on New Year’s Eve, according to a news release Wednesday to announce drunk driving patrols in coordination with several other western states. According to the agency, traffic fatalities are at a 15-year high in the state, and troopers will be aggressively targeting those who drink and drive Friday night.

In Clarkston, Police Chief Joel Hastings said his department doesn’t expect an increase in New Year’s Eve fireworks because the city was one of the only places in the region last summer that didn’t ban them for the Fourth. If they do have some fireworks left over, residents are allowed to discharge them between 6 p.m. Friday and 1 a.m. Saturday.

“We just want everybody to be safe, and only use the fireworks that are legal in Clarkston,” Hastings said, pointing people to the Washington Fire Marshal’s website at wsp.wa.gov/fireworks for full guidelines. Generally, Hastings said firecrackers and bottle rockets are off limits.

Hastings also asked people who choose to set off any fireworks to clean up after themselves. The Clarkston street department always struggles with the debris left over after July 4, and he doesn’t want residents to add to that burden in the middle of winter.

Finally, fireworks and alcohol are never a good mix, Hastings said. But he added that Clarkston has never had much of a problem with fireworks on New Year’s Eve. And with a forecast temperature of 7 degrees at midnight Saturday, he doesn’t expect one to materialize this year.

“It’s too cold,” he said. “You don’t want to be standing outside for very long. It’s stinkin’ cold out there.”

Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com.