 FIREWORKS FOR SALE ... SOON: A newly erected fireworks sales booth on the corner of McFadden and Fairview in Santa Ana sits ready for business Thursday. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
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Groups defy governor's request to stop fireworks sales
'Don't go out and do fireworks this year,' Schwarzenegger says at scene of Big Sur blaze.
Orange County groups plan to sell fireworks despite Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's request Wednesday that Californians not buy Fourth of July fireworks
The governor's request was in response to the hundreds of wildfires raging throughout northern California and the unusually dry conditions.
The governor issued the unique plea during a press conference in Big Sur, near the Basin Complex Fire where more than 19,000 acres have already burned.
"I know that the people that are selling all this stuff are going to go crazy now when I say this, but don't buy any of the fireworks," Schwarzenegger said. "Don't go out and do fireworks this year."
Schwarzenegger has not decided whether to declare a state of emergency and impose a statewide ban on fireworks sales, said spokesman Aaron McLear.
Five cities in Orange County -- Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Santa Ana, Garden Grove and Stanton -- allow the sale of "safe and sane" fireworks, which will be sold from July 1 through July 4.
"Of course we're continuing to sell. First of all that would ruin our program," said Luis Padilla, president of Stanton Pop Warren Youth Football and Cheer. "For us it's a big help. We're a small city and the only help we get from the city is having a fireworks booth."
Padilla said the fireworks stand is their main fundraiser of the year and that the group usually makes about $6,000. They use the money to buy new equipment and to pay for facility costs and for students who don't have enough money to join.
Dianne Horn, the co-chair of the fireworks stand for the First Congregational Church in Buena Park, said the church will continue to sell the "safe and sane fireworks."
"It's our best fundraiser of the year," she said. "The ones we sell are not the ones causing fires. It's the illegal ones that are the problem."
Dale Eichman of the Buena Park Noon Lions club said they will still have a stand because they already ordered $20,000 worth of fireworks.
"I'm not too worried that sales will drop," he said. "I don't think there will be a big effect in Buena Park because we don't have forests and things like that. Fire danger is low here. Maybe in the rural areas, like Kern County, groups will lose money, but I think people will still buy them here."
Schwarzenegger said that citizens would help the fire department and the state and law enforcement by not buying fireworks.
"So be careful. Don't buy the fireworks, don't go out and play with fireworks, because it's just too dry and too dangerous to do those things. "
Orange fire marshal and division chief Patrick Dibb said he can understand the governor's concern.
"Any additional fires would create a burden on an already taxed system," he said. "Personally we have 14 firefighters up in northern California right now."
While some communities ban fireworks altogether, Orange County allows the sale of"safe and sane" fireworks that have been approved for individual use in California.
Fireworks companies and charity groups already have set up temporary booths in parking lots in anticipation of next week's holiday. The booths are staffed mostly by charity groups who receive a share of sales.
The Sacramento Bee and Register Staff Writer Denisse Salazar contributed to this report.
Contact the writer: 714-704-3738 or lashbaugh@ocregister.com
