@Kyeh@sillyheathen
Recently read about a local smoke jumper from Alabama that died fighting a fire in Colorado. He was one of three from his team that perished. Haven’t heard the specifics about how it happened yet. Made me think of this song:
@Kyeh@sillyheathen
Whoops… my bad. Misremembered the article I saw a couple of days ago.
Definitely a tragedy. I’ve always had the utmost respect for those guys. As an ex- volunteer firefighter I know what grass / woods/forest fires can be like. It’s the closest to hell you’ll ever want to get.
@Kyeh@sillyheathen
Spent several years as a volunteer firefighter/EMT before I became a full-time RN. Never was a smokejumper, but fought my share of grass and woods fires locally (as well as house and vehicle fires). Have always wanted to skydive though … maybe some day.
I Lost my Wonderful Dog 15 years to the day I brought that sweet boy home…1/1/26. Fireworks are responsible. They are also Illegal and have been for years, but that doesn’t seem to deter them. I didn’t lose his as if he ran away. I lost him because I had to put him down, as he tangled himself up in a corner of my office where he had NEVER gone before… He either dislocated his hip or his knee. He couldn’t bear weight on that leg. If I could pinpoint the guilty parties on the street behind me, I would have decked them. Then reported them. I am a Non Violent RN… I still would have decked them. Shame on selfish people…And to top that off, we have been in Stage 3 Water Restrictions for years, Serious Drought… I wonder how many homes catch fire in these conditions… As I said, Shame On the Selfish Idiots…
@Mandamm
I remember a few years back when a huge California fire was started by idiots setting off smoke bombs/fireworks during a baby gender reveal! This in the middle of an absolute fire ban of course…
All stocked up with cold drinks and a patio chair. I tend to watch other people’s fireworks.
About 15 years ago on July 4, I was visiting somebody who had a house mild rise that might even be called a hill
way out in the country and a full porch all the way around the house. I love that design, but modern house arent built that way much anymore.
So they weren’t doing fireworks and we were all just sitting out drinking beers or sodas.
And because of the small rise, we could probably see I don’t know maybe 5-10 miles or something.
There were a few tiny towns around by towns I mean, a gas station and a church and some houses that were close together
And it was mostly just small ranching country
As soon as it got dark, we could see way off in the distance, the fireworks from the nearest serious town and they were gorgeous
But after that stopped, all the neighbors got to work
And for about two or three hours no matter which direction we looked there were fireworks
We could just walk all the way around the house on the porch and there were fireworks every which way.
Most of them went on until after midnight and the last of them petered out about 3 AM
You could just kind of hear them because of the distance so the local pets weren’t going nuts
But you could see them and it was pretty cool
Some of the people doing it even had some of the big colored fancy stuff
There was nothing in the paper later on about somebody getting burned or injured and no local fires reported so I guess they knew what they were doing or they got lucky
@f00l We go to an annual party hosted by a friend on the 4th. His house is on the banks of the Columbia River - from his deck you can see the local municipal fireworks display, which is launched from an island in the river, plus various other displays across the river in Washington state. Fun time.
@f00l@Kyeh@chienfou It did not disappoint. There was a nearly continuous array of various municipal and private fireworks displays that stretched for several miles along the river.
I love watching the real ones, but not hearing them. The booms are far too loud, even with my hearing aids out. Also, I have all my fingers and toes, not to mention both eyes, and want to keep them. I used to set off firecrackers (I never had any of the big ones), but that was many decades ago.
@jkawaguchi The sad thing is trying to capture Drone displays in still photography is Not kool.
Yes they are pretty too watch, BUT it must be Video to film it! Shooting Fireworks takes skill!
Only heard a few fireworks this week, but it just started to thunder. Well…only one thunder. Wonder what we will end up with. Fireworks or Thunder storms.
We grew up doing our own fireworks. 20 plus years, no fires, a few slight burns (which were valuable lessons). We even made our own fireworks. There were fireworks stands all over the place selling modest ones; they were fundraisers for everything from Scouts to churches and schools. The police were pretty tolerant as long as no fires were started. For the Bicentennial our extended family had a great fireworks display, as did MANY other families and groups.
Where I live now there are no fireworks stands any more. Almost everything that sparks or flames has been banned (including sparklers in our town). The “fireworks” sold at stores are the snap and pops that you throw at the ground and spring loaded confetti dispensers. Getting good stuff means driving to another state.
I have a few boxes of sparklers left from past years; we are going to light them up and wave them tomorrow night. Wheee!
I look forward to doing fireworks again once I’m in a better state (we’re moving after we retire). Believe it or not, if you’re careful they are quite safe, even the big stuff. Just don’t be stupid, don’t be drunk, and don’t let your kids go unmonitored using them.
My neighborhood has been eerily silent this Fourth holiday. I have heard no fireworks nearby at all, which is extremely unusual; we get booms from people using them off-season fairly regularly. And I had expected that the city would have a celebration on the plaza in front of City Hall, but that didn’t happen. I had to go downtown in midafternoon for an errand. Traffic was sparse, very few people were around, and there were no decorations anywhere. The only flag I saw was Canadian, being carried by someone who had clearly just come back from a World Cup football match.
@werehatrack we had a storm system go through in the afternoon but it cleared in time for fireworks. For some reason a lot of the local places did fireworks on Friday night instead of Independence Day.
But the local individuals and families put on a pretty good display last night; the park behind us and the apartment complex nearby both had shows going on for a couple of hours.
We still have neighbors who put out the flag (as we do), mostly but not all are veterans. But then some kids came around and planted a small American flag in everyone’s front yard. Pretty cool!
Not gonna use any this year, but yeah, I have a stash available where I can pick it up.
I don’t shoot off Fireworks.
I bring my camera Capture them!
None here in CO, where everything’s catching on fire everywhere.
@Kyeh @sillyheathen
Recently read about a local smoke jumper from Alabama that died fighting a fire in Colorado. He was one of three from his team that perished. Haven’t heard the specifics about how it happened yet. Made me think of this song:
@chienfou @sillyheathen The Alabama firefighter was a woman:
https://obits.al.com/us/obituaries/birmingham/name/sydney-watson-obituary?id=61887502
There was another woman & a man. So sad!
@Kyeh @sillyheathen
Whoops… my bad. Misremembered the article I saw a couple of days ago.
Definitely a tragedy. I’ve always had the utmost respect for those guys. As an ex- volunteer firefighter I know what grass / woods/forest fires can be like. It’s the closest to hell you’ll ever want to get.
@chienfou @sillyheathen Oh, wow - you did it? It really does sound terrifying.
@Kyeh @sillyheathen
Spent several years as a volunteer firefighter/EMT before I became a full-time RN. Never was a smokejumper, but fought my share of grass and woods fires locally (as well as house and vehicle fires). Have always wanted to skydive though … maybe some day.
None for us and the dogs. They get nervous and shake when the booms come.
@milstarr
My dog was terrified of them. And any loud noise such as thunder, motorcycles, and jet engines.
I Lost my Wonderful Dog 15 years to the day I brought that sweet boy home…1/1/26. Fireworks are responsible. They are also Illegal and have been for years, but that doesn’t seem to deter them. I didn’t lose his as if he ran away. I lost him because I had to put him down, as he tangled himself up in a corner of my office where he had NEVER gone before… He either dislocated his hip or his knee. He couldn’t bear weight on that leg. If I could pinpoint the guilty parties on the street behind me, I would have decked them. Then reported them. I am a Non Violent RN… I still would have decked them. Shame on selfish people…And to top that off, we have been in Stage 3 Water Restrictions for years, Serious Drought… I wonder how many homes catch fire in these conditions… As I said, Shame On the Selfish Idiots…
@Mandamm
I remember a few years back when a huge California fire was started by idiots setting off smoke bombs/fireworks during a baby gender reveal! This in the middle of an absolute fire ban of course…
All stocked up with cold drinks and a patio chair. I tend to watch other people’s fireworks.
About 15 years ago on July 4, I was visiting somebody who had a house mild rise that might even be called a hill
way out in the country and a full porch all the way around the house. I love that design, but modern house arent built that way much anymore.
So they weren’t doing fireworks and we were all just sitting out drinking beers or sodas.
And because of the small rise, we could probably see I don’t know maybe 5-10 miles or something.
There were a few tiny towns around by towns I mean, a gas station and a church and some houses that were close together
And it was mostly just small ranching country
As soon as it got dark, we could see way off in the distance, the fireworks from the nearest serious town and they were gorgeous
But after that stopped, all the neighbors got to work
And for about two or three hours no matter which direction we looked there were fireworks
We could just walk all the way around the house on the porch and there were fireworks every which way.
Most of them went on until after midnight and the last of them petered out about 3 AM
You could just kind of hear them because of the distance so the local pets weren’t going nuts
But you could see them and it was pretty cool
Some of the people doing it even had some of the big colored fancy stuff
There was nothing in the paper later on about somebody getting burned or injured and no local fires reported so I guess they knew what they were doing or they got lucky
But it was pretty wonderful
That view would be cool to have every year
@f00l We go to an annual party hosted by a friend on the 4th. His house is on the banks of the Columbia River - from his deck you can see the local municipal fireworks display, which is launched from an island in the river, plus various other displays across the river in Washington state. Fun time.
@f00l @Kyeh @chienfou It did not disappoint. There was a nearly continuous array of various municipal and private fireworks displays that stretched for several miles along the river.
@f00l @Kyeh @macromeh
Nice!
Yeah no…. Too dry already and we just had almost a week of rain.
I love watching the real ones, but not hearing them. The booms are far too loud, even with my hearing aids out. Also, I have all my fingers and toes, not to mention both eyes, and want to keep them. I used to set off firecrackers (I never had any of the big ones), but that was many decades ago.
@andyw and smelling them
A couple of neighboring communities are having “Drone Displays “ in stead of fireworks
. Still too hot to watch in person but I’ll watch on tv
@jkawaguchi The sad thing is trying to capture Drone displays in still photography is Not kool.
Yes they are pretty too watch, BUT it must be Video to film it! Shooting Fireworks takes skill!
@mycya4me
Totally agree with you on that. But it’s environmentally friendly so it has that going for it. It’s kinda like watching giant fireflies.
@aetris That’s so pretty!
@Kyeh The LED sparkler at the lower right is courtesy of Meh!
We are already on fire over here. Please just don’t. There aren’t enough resources for more fires.
I have seen enough fireworks that they’re boring.
I also don’t like to scare the critters.
@kittykat9180 it’s not just scaring the critters, but also setting things on fire or creating a dust cloud for the next few days.
This week may be the last week some people will have 10 fingers
@somf69
That’s why we stopped having “Sparklers “ and went to‘Glow sticks’ instead. No ER visit!
Only heard a few fireworks this week, but it just started to thunder. Well…only one thunder. Wonder what we will end up with. Fireworks or Thunder storms.
We grew up doing our own fireworks. 20 plus years, no fires, a few slight burns (which were valuable lessons). We even made our own fireworks. There were fireworks stands all over the place selling modest ones; they were fundraisers for everything from Scouts to churches and schools. The police were pretty tolerant as long as no fires were started. For the Bicentennial our extended family had a great fireworks display, as did MANY other families and groups.
Where I live now there are no fireworks stands any more. Almost everything that sparks or flames has been banned (including sparklers in our town). The “fireworks” sold at stores are the snap and pops that you throw at the ground and spring loaded confetti dispensers. Getting good stuff means driving to another state.
I have a few boxes of sparklers left from past years; we are going to light them up and wave them tomorrow night. Wheee!
I look forward to doing fireworks again once I’m in a better state (we’re moving after we retire). Believe it or not, if you’re careful they are quite safe, even the big stuff. Just don’t be stupid, don’t be drunk, and don’t let your kids go unmonitored using them.
Watching the fireworks from Philadelphia right now.
France vs Paraguay… Nil-nil at the half.
@chienfou
Final score 1- 0, France wins. They now will face Morocco in the quarters.
My neighborhood has been eerily silent this Fourth holiday. I have heard no fireworks nearby at all, which is extremely unusual; we get booms from people using them off-season fairly regularly. And I had expected that the city would have a celebration on the plaza in front of City Hall, but that didn’t happen. I had to go downtown in midafternoon for an errand. Traffic was sparse, very few people were around, and there were no decorations anywhere. The only flag I saw was Canadian, being carried by someone who had clearly just come back from a World Cup football match.
Clearly, people just aren’t feeling it.
@werehatrack
Houston? Where were the firework displays to be located?
Or are you suburban?
@werehatrack we had a storm system go through in the afternoon but it cleared in time for fireworks. For some reason a lot of the local places did fireworks on Friday night instead of Independence Day.
But the local individuals and families put on a pretty good display last night; the park behind us and the apartment complex nearby both had shows going on for a couple of hours.
We still have neighbors who put out the flag (as we do), mostly but not all are veterans. But then some kids came around and planted a small American flag in everyone’s front yard. Pretty cool!