If you are new to my blog you might not know that there are two holidays I do not celebrate...4th of July and New Year's. Why is that Belinda? Because they both involve fireworks and excessive drinking. No, I am not a prude and I certainly enjoy a cold beer or two...just, not on these two holidays.
My house in Houston is located in Harris County, my mother's house in Del Rio is in Val Verde County. For those not familiar with Texas codes, if you live in the county even if you live in a subdivision you can pop firecrackers to your heart's content. That is something that I am totally against and wish the law would change.
Every 4th of July and New Year's I have to water down the grass (weeds) and have the front and backyard water hoses ready in case they are needed. Del Rio is in a severe drought and yesterday we were expecting precipitation after 11:00 p.m. With rain on the way, watering down the weeds would have been a wasteful use of resources.
Even though the City of Del Rio has an annual 4th of July fireworks display that is well attended, people feel the need to put up their own display. Every year on both holidays it is like a war zone out here in the county, yesterday was not the exception.
It was around 11:45 p.m. when I heard sirens. I was so tired I decided to go to bed early and went to check that the front door was locked when I saw a lot of red and blue lights. Opened the door to see police, ambulance and fire trucks lined up and down the street.
Went to check what was happening from the kitchen door. That is when I saw that the neighbor's house three lots down was ablaze. More neighbors were arriving home from the official fireworks and were asking the police what happened. Heard the officer say that fireworks were the culprit. Felt so bad as she is a single mother and I know she does not have insurance. Like most houses on this street, they are old and her house used to belong to her late parents.
The rains that were supposed to reach Del Rio last night did not materialize until six o'clock in the morning. I sat in the backyard with the cats until 4:00 a.m. in case the flames decided to re-ignite. There are no other houses between my mom's property and hers just dry weeds so I was concerned.
This year in the United States there seems to have been more incidents involving fireworks and house fires. I hope all those irresponsible neighbors who were popping fireworks in less than ideal weather conditions think twice before igniting another one in the future.
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
Terlingua Dreams
Governors Landing Campground - Lake Amistad - Del Rio, Texas
I will be very surprised in none of Amistad NRA burned. It was really dry last March when I left there.
ReplyDeleteActually, the Amistad NRA has gotten more rain than Del Rio proper. However, I would not know if some parts burned as I do not buy the local paper.
DeleteEven if your county changed the law to ban firecrackers, you may not see much of a difference. Where I live all fireworks of any kind have been illegal for years, yet the noise of fireworks is all around the whole neighborhood for hours on the 4th of July.
ReplyDeleteI can see why the county would allow fireworks if you live out in the boonies or have a ranch far away from other houses but when you live in a cramped subdivision I do not think it should be allowed.
DeleteWhen I lived in Houston there was a big problem with people firing off their firearms on New Years Eve. Stiff fines and campaigns to encourage the reporting of said activity helped a lot.
Thank you for commenting.
How sad for that poor family. It is so dry here too and on the 4th fools were shooting off rockets and more fire starting things. I don't have weeds or grasses but the roof is usually the first things to get hit
ReplyDeleteYou got that right FOOLS are the only ones that would shoot off fireworks when it is so dry and could possibly cause a hazardous situation as in this instance.
DeleteSaw the high temperatures you are experiencing, try to stay cool.
I never could understand the point of lighting a match to something that is just going to make a loud noise. Even if they explode in color it is a meaningless and stupid thing to do. Can you just imagine how the animals must suffer from the noise?
ReplyDeleteWhen I had my little stray dogs they would freak out and run and hide under the cars.
DeleteWalter and another horse that shares a stable with him also gets agitated but has nowhere to go.