In recent years, occasions big and small — parties, Super Bowls, mixed martial arts fights, and even Thanksgiving — have provided a reason for Hawaii residents to set off illegal fireworks.
The increasingly sophisticated exhibits, loved by some and loathed by others, are so widespread that some consider them part of the state’s culture. They shook neighborhoods filled with crowded homes, started fires, terrorized pets and knocked a light fixture from the ceiling of an Associated Press reporter’s home, where it narrowly missed a child and shattered on the floor.
Every New Year’s Day, Honolulu authorities release a list of casualties from the previous night’s fireworks, usually a litany of burns, shrapnel wounds or amputations. Sometimes there are deaths.
But none of the damage compared to Tuesday night’s tragedy, when a beam of lit mortar-style antennas toppled over and fired into cases of unlit fireworks, causing a series of explosions rapids which killed three women and injured more than 20 people, including children.
The Honolulu Medical Examiner’s Office on Friday identified two of the women as Nelie Ibarra, 58, and Jennifer Van, 23. The cause and manner of death for both women were listed as pending. The identity of the third has not yet been confirmed, the ministry said in a statement.
Another person was killed in an unrelated fireworks explosion on Oahu.
Authorities and residents are now wondering whether this toll will deter people from organizing such shows in the future, or whether it will prompt police to step up their enforcement efforts.
“This incident is a painful reminder of the danger posed by illegal fireworks,” Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said at a news conference. “They put lives at risk, they drain our first responders and disrupt our neighborhoods.”
Efforts to crack down on smuggled fireworks have had limited effect. In 2023, lawmakers created a task force on illegal fireworks. Given the ease with which it seized fireworks, including three shipping containers during its first months of operation, the State Law Enforcement Department concluded that fireworks Illegal fireworks were likely smuggled into Hawaii on a daily basis.
The task force seized a total of 227,000 pounds (about 103,000 kilograms) of fireworks, according to Gov. Josh Green.
And yet, the Honolulu Fire Department reported Thursday that there were 30 firework-related fires between Tuesday and Wednesday, a 30 percent increase from last New Year’s celebrations.
Rep. Gregg Takayama, who sponsored legislation passed last year to strengthen controls on fireworks, said he remembers setting them off when he was younger and recognizes they are a tradition for many. But the ones he played with, including Roman candles, pale in comparison to those on the black market today.
“The type of aerial fireworks that are being used now are actual explosive bombs,” he said. “The danger is therefore amplified.”
Charmaine Doran, vice president of the board of directors of the Pearl City neighborhood in northwest Honolulu, called the idea that fireworks are part of Hawaiian culture a misconception: “They have been banned all my life…and I’m pretty old.”
In her neighborhood, fireworks ramp up after Halloween, exploding in the middle of the night until New Year’s. Doran said she can tell if there’s a big mixed martial arts fight on TV because as the booms started earlier in the day.
Law enforcement is complicated because people are reluctant to report their neighbors on a small island where “we’re related to everyone, everyone knows everyone,” Doran said.
People are afraid of retaliation, she added: “If I call 911, they’re going to put eggs in my house.”
This was the theme of some testimony before the Legislative Assembly last January. Pearl City resident Beverly Takushi said she was threatened by a neighbor when she told her brother to stop setting off illegal fireworks during a show that lasted from 5:30 p.m. Year until past midnight.
“It was the first time I was threatened not only by the danger of aerial fireworks to my family and my property, but also to my safety by this neighbor who accused me of not respecting his culture,” Takushi said. “He has since apologized, but that’s why no one wants to get involved and report their neighbors for setting off bombs and antennas.”
Many historians believe that fireworks were invented in China more than 2,000 years ago and their use came to mean joy and prosperity, as well as warding off evil. In Hawaii, they are celebrated not only by residents of Chinese descent, but also by all of the state’s diverse communities.
Takushi echoed Takayama’s view on the big difference between today’s large, professional-grade fireworks and the smaller ones of yesteryear.
“A series of firecrackers at midnight to ward off evil spirits is cultural, not loud explosives that make it sound like you are in the middle of a war,” Takushi said.
Richard Oshiro, secretary of the Waipahu Neighborhood Council, known as one of Oahu’s hotspots for aerial displays, said he hopes this week’s deaths will prompt a change in thinking about playing with explosives.
He said he tried to report them whenever he could, even though he knew the police couldn’t do much if “they couldn’t catch people in the act.”
Possession of more than 50 pounds (approximately 23 kilograms) of aerial fireworks or other illegal fireworks in Hawaii is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of $10,000. Takayama noted that the law now allows photographs and videos of fireworks to be presented as evidence in court, but said prosecutions still face obstacles.
“We already have laws on the books. We need to find better ways to enforce them,” he said. “I mean, we constantly hear about people reporting on their neighbors using illegal antennas, but nothing is being done about it.”
The best way to control fireworks is to stop them at Hawaii ports, Takayama said. Law enforcement has intelligence on shipments containing illegal fireworks, and U.S. authorities have the authority to open suspicious shipments. The task force has made seizures but needs to do more, he said.
“We need to find ways to limit the amount of fireworks that come in, because once they come in and they’re in the community, it’s very difficult to track them down,” Takayama said.
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