LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Phantom Fireworks in Pahrump is staffed up, from 5 to 50 employees, to handle the sky-rocketing demand for fireworks leading up to the Fourth of July holiday.
Phantom Fireworks store manager Kellie Mendenhall says many customers travel to Pahrump from Las Vegas or out of state.
“We have a lot of people who come in and say, ‘Hey, where I’m from, we can only have on the ground fireworks. Can you show me where your safe and sane section is?” she said.
In Clark County, only “safe and sane” fireworks are allowed, but that doesn’t stop some customers from taking aerial fireworks back to Vegas.
“Who wants fireworks that go up to their knees?” said Latasha, a customer from Las Vegas. “Even my 5-year-old is like, ‘What is that, Aunite? Where is the boom, boom, boom?’ Right?”
In Nye County, the town of Pahrump has a designated site where aerial fireworks are allowed.
If you go to Pahrump to buy fireworks at any of the stores there, a $5 permit will automatically be included in your purchase. It allows you to set them off at the town’s fireworks safety site, which is only open around holidays.
“Basically, we have a lot of the same rules, but the difference is we have a shooter site where we sell a permit for here that you’re allowed to take up to five people per permit and shoot them off in a safe like fairground-type situation,” said Mendenhall.
Multiple fireworks store managers in Pahrump told FOX5 there’s only so much they can do to prevent the illegal transport of fireworks back to Las Vegas.
Signs are now up on valley freeways reminding drivers about the law, but, as we’ve seen on Fourth of Julys past, many in Clark County still don’t follow the rules.
“No, nobody does,” said Latasha. “My whole block is like a firework war. Like each house comes out, and we have like a contest who has the biggest.”
In 2022, Clark County upped the minimum fine for those caught using illegal fireworks from $250 to $500.
Copyright 2024 KVVU. All rights reserved.
