A group of teenagers setting off fireworks caused a 250-acre fire near Southeast Boise on Friday, according to a news release from the Ada County Sheriff’s Office.
The grass fire started around 4 p.m. in the area of E. Plexi Court and S. Leeds Lane near the Boise River when a 16-year-old launched a mortar firework. The minor was with several friends at the time of the incident, and they immediately called 911 to report the fire.
The teenagers tried to extinguish the fire, but were unsuccessful.
The Bureau of Land Management responded to the fire with one overhead, four engines, one bulldozer, one water tender, one helicopter and one fire investigator, according to a BLM Facebook post. The fire was under control by 6 p.m.
The minor was fined and released for destroying trees or prairie land.
Setting off fireworks on BLM land is prohibited, and the Sheriff’s Office reminded residents that Ada County’s fireworks ban prohibits the use of fireworks in unaffiliated areas outside of fire protection districts. Violators can be charged with a misdemeanor.
The only fireworks legal in Idaho are “non-aerial fireworks,” which excludes devices containing explosive material that will burn when ignited, such as M-80s and cherry bombs; fireworks that leave the ground on their own, such as air and bottle rockets; or fireworks that send sparks more than 20 feet vertically, the Idaho Statesman previously reported.
