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Stiff fines set for breaking Cottonwood Heights fireworks ban

UPDATED: JULY 19, 2017 AT 7:14 PM
BY
KSLNewsRadio

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS – City officials are not messing around with their aerial fireworks ban.  They’re hoping to let people know that breaking the ban could result in stiff fines.

The maximum penalty someone could get for setting off fireworks that shoot higher than 15 feet is $533, per violation.  Police Sergeant Ryan Shosted says, “Say we leave, and they continue to have that behavior, then, obviously, and we would take further corrective action, which, would put them in a situation where that can get multiple citations.”

However, the police don’t decide what the final fine would be.  The Holladay Justice Court judge would.  Shosted says, “The judge will look at that and set what rate schedule he wants.”

City leaders say they had no choice to ban aerial fireworks after one home was destroyed by fire, and half a dozen more were in danger.  Shosted says the fire also burned many acres of grassland and cost city residents a lot of money.  “[City leaders] had to take the responsible role and say, ‘We can’t have these types pf fireworks being lit off,” Shosted says.

The ban only limits fireworks that shoot higher than 15 feet.