Officers from Portland Police Bureau and inspectors from Portland Fire & Rescue issued citations Wednesday evening across the city's eastside, dampening backyard displays of illegal fireworks. Bob Butterfield, a 30-year-old cabinet designer, watched as inspector Michael Silva bagged up a few hundred dollars' worth of Lady Bug spinners, Jumping Jacks, and a box labeled Pyrochameleon on the curb beside his father's house.
A smell of sulfur still hung in the air from the Roman candle he bought in Washington and fired off as officials turned onto Northeast Sacramento and 117th Avenue just before 9 p.m.
"It seems kind of hard core," Butterfield said wistfully, as family and friends sat in the driveway on lawn chairs. "What we're gonna do is probably watch everybody else set off their fireworks." Butterfield's father, Boyd, pocketed a $100 ticket, one of many issued as night fell.
Around the corner, another neighbor was let go with a warning after firing off the last of five noisy fireworks, leftovers from last year's celebration amid a mound of legal fireworks purchased at the local Bi-Mart.
"I believe people should have their fun," Silva said. "But safety is the issue. And it's against the law to set off illegal fireworks."
(blog.oregonlive.com)
