Mixed messaging about reporting illegal fireworks frustrates Las Vegas public

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Love 'em or hate 'em, illegal fireworks have become a fixture in Las Vegas, and the Clark County line can't keep them out.

Historically, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department says July 4 is the busiest day of the year for their communications center, where they get the largest number of 911 and 311 calls, straining staff trying to process those calls and get officers dispatched into neighborhoods.

A county website was supposed to help with that, but when it didn't, and a frustrated viewer asked what's the deal, I discovered mixed messaging may be to blame.

"If you are looking to do illegal fireworks, know that we're out there in full force and we're gonna be coming for your illegal fireworks. We're gonna seize those, and you're gonna get a $500 citation," said LVMPD Deputy Chief Reggie Rader in a Thursday briefing.

Metro's motto for illegal fireworks enforcement is, "You Light It, We Write It." And they were very specific about how they wanted to hear from concerned members of the community: online through ispyfireworks.com.

"We ask people to use that instead of jamming up the 311 and 911 system for those types of calls for service," said Metro Undersheriff Andrew Walsh. "The ispyfireworks.com--it's a county-run program that gives us the ability to capture data and have officers respond in real time to those complaints."

That's actually not entirely true, and it may explain locals' concerns.

Viewer Julie Otten wrote to "Darcy what's the deal?" asking, "What's the point of ispyfireworks? Why should anyone bother reporting illegal fireworks when nothing is being done about it? Why are fireworks of any kind even legal in this dry climate? I and several neighbors report on ispy consistently and still it's like a war zone in my neighborhood!"

On Metro's X page, HaniFANGIRL wrote: "A lot of good this website does. Every time I try to report, I get this error."

And Steve wrote: "Five hours of complaints = no response at all. Great enforcement strategy! My yard is littered with debris from illegal airborne fireworks this morning."

According to Clark County, the ispyfireworks "website's intended use is for the reporting and documenting of illegal fireworks usage complaints for future enforcement action. The information does not result in a police dispatch, but it helps us collect data to track the problem and plan enforcement efforts."

So basically - it does serve a purpose, but it's not for dispatching officers.

Metro's pictures posted on social media Friday show real-time enforcement last night. Officers dispatched from 311 calls were prioritized according to available resources.

The ispyfireworks website logged 11,207 complaints about illegal fireworks from June 28 to July 4, including 9,355 on July 4. Again, that information will be used for future enforcement action.

As for this year, Walsh said, "Over the last two weeks we've recovered over seven tons of illegal fireworks that were on their way into our neighborhoods."

But as we know, many did make it into valley neighborhoods. To combat that, working with a task force of first responders, Metro beefed up staffing.

"We have well over 100 officers that have been pulled to be in the areas where there's historically high amounts of illegal fireworks." Rader said.

The "You Light It, We Write It." joint task force confiscated more than 17,000 pounds of illegal fireworks and officers wrote 229 citations.

If all of those citations were for just the minimum fine, the night's tally would be $114,500.