Holiday reminder: individual use of fireworks is illegal in North Carolina

SUNSET BEACH, NC (WWAY) —  There’s plenty of public firework shows throughout The Cape Fear this holiday, but some people feel the need to take matters into their own hands.

With the state line so close, it’s not hard to get your hands on fireworks that are illegal in North Carolina.

At Stateline Fireworks in South Carolina it’s pretty easy to see that most of the customers here are from North Carolina, and employees say that some are from as far as even Virginia.

Most fireworks are against the law in North Carolina, but the law won’t stop some residents, like Jason Lee, and visitors from setting them off.

“It’s pretty much a panoramic view of fireworks,” Lee said.

Sunset Beach Police Chief Ken Klamar said not only is it categorically illegal to use fireworks in his town, but with the unusually dry period it’s particularly dangerous around our area right now.

“The proximity on the island in particular of the houses to each other,” Klamar said. “The dryness factor, everything that you see here — pine straw that’s used for landscaping purpose are very flammable materials this is why the town and North Carolina statute prohibits these items, because it’s such a fire risk.”

Jason Lee and his kids drove from Wilmington to Stateline Fireworks just across the border in Little River Wednesday afternoon to buy fireworks for Independence Day.

He said he does this every year, and that even with the drought he knows what he’s doing.

“We spray the area,” Lee said. “We’ve got buckets of water, we got remote igniters and things like that so nobody has to get near the fireworks. We keep it safe.”

If any of these shoppers are caught lighting off fireworks in North Carolina this week they can face time in jail as well as a hefty fine.