A Bay Area man's trip to Nevada explains why local skies are about to burst with illegal fireworks

San Francisco Chronicle​

13 hours ago

With Independence Day approaching, Trevor did what he's done every year for the last decade. The 49-year-old Bay Area man rented a car and headed east. Four and a half hours later, he pulled into Bad Jack's Fireworks.
'You walk in the store and it's like a Walmart, but all fireworks,' he said of the nondescript warehouse on the Walker River Reservation in Schurz, Nev.
Trevor, who asked to be identified by his first name only while acknowledging illegal conduct, represents an annual irritant to California officials seeking to cleanse the state of the bigger pyrotechnics that occasionally cause injuries and fires.
Law enforcement agencies expend great effort to warn residents away from these products, only to see rockets and Roman candles flood in easily from Nevada and other places where they sell over-the-counter, then fill the night skies of cities from Livermore to Oakland to Santa Rosa.
'Probably 75% of the people in the store were from California,' Trevor said of Bad Jack's, chuckling.
The sale completed, he hopped back into his car, returning across the border with about $1,100 worth of fireworks — enough, he said, for about three to four hours of entertainment at this year's cookout.
Industry experts estimate that 13 stores immediately across the Nevada border account for at least 60% to 70% of the illegal fireworks used in the Golden State, where possession or sale of the devices is illegal without a special permit.
In many parts of Nevada, as in California, fireworks are strictly regulated. But the stores popular with people like Trevor sell Class 1.4 G grade fireworks, which are legal under federal law but barred everywhere in California.
And in a few places in Nevada, such as a specially approved 'shooter zone' in Pahrump, and on tribal reservations farther north, they are legal to set off.
Nicole Varain, one of Bad Jack's owners, said in a phone interview that the store can't refuse to sell fireworks to Californians, because anyone can legally come onto the Walker River Reservation — home to the Northern Paiute people — and buy and set them off.
The reservation has several launch sites, and many visitors come for an overnight fireworks display for Independence Day, she said.
'Everybody comes out here,' she said.
Before his annual runs to Nevada, Trevor used to buy 'off the street,' until he realized it would be cheaper to cut out the middleman.
The admission would probably make many Bay Area police officers, firefighters and quiet-seeking residents cringe.
'Fireworks are dangerous for a whole host of reasons,' said sheriff's Sgt. Phil Hallworth of San Mateo County, where even 'safe and sane' products like sparklers and fountains are banned in most jurisdictions, in part due to wildfire risk. 'While they may be thrilling to some, (they are) distressing to others.'
Hallworth urged residents to attend county-sponsored celebrations. For those who plan to use fireworks in areas that allow them, he said, 'Just use some common sense. Keep a water hose handy, or a bucket. Never be afraid to call 911, if you see someone using illegal fireworks or if a fire does happen.'
Every summer, San Francisco police officers are dispatched to hundreds of reports of fireworks, an average of more than 300 per month in June and July, according to a 2023 report from the city's civil grand jury.
'The San Francisco firework explosions booming around the city,' the report said, 'are more likely from fireworks that are illegal in California but which are for sale in the neighboring state of Nevada.'
In recent weeks, police in San Francisco and Alameda County have seized thousands of pounds of illegal fireworks while making a spate of arrests.
Last week in Alameda, where all fireworks are prohibited, police officers responded to a tip about fireworks sales at a storage facility. They reported discovering a unit crammed with more than 1,500 illegal goods.
The stash included professional-grade explosives such as spinners, fountains, rockets and artillery shells, said Capt. Alan Kuboyama. He said detectives were trying to determine the source and intent for the fireworks, and that no arrests had been made.
'If we are able to make an arrest, we will focus on identifying their supplier so we can stop the inflow of illegal fireworks,' Kuboyama said in an email.
Also last week, San Francisco police stopped a motorist driving a stolen U-Haul van in the Bayview neighborhood and discovered 'hundreds of illegal fireworks, including various rockets and barrel bombs,' according to a department news release.
The driver, 38, was arrested on suspicion of auto theft charges, fireworks possession and 26 counts of illegal possession of explosives. SFPD Chief Paul Yep said the seized cache of fireworks could have caused 'untold destruction' in the city.
This Tuesday afternoon, a similar incident played out in the Mission, after two San Francisco Sheriff's deputies received a notification about another stolen U-Haul van.
Stop in Bayview of stolen @uhaul truck via @Flock_Safety hit leads to arrest of driver & passenger & seizure of 1,648 pounds of illegal fireworks w/help of @SFPD bomb squad, per @SheriffSF pic.twitter.com/OnOQDIrxdJ
— Henry K. Lee (@henrykleeKTVU) July 3, 2025
Deputies found the van in the Bayview and stopped it, arresting its driver and another person, who were accused of 36 felony offenses. Members of SFPD's bomb squad then recovered 1,648 pounds of explosives from the back of the truck.
'At this time of year, no one is going to put a bunch of illegal fireworks in their minivan,' said John Ramirez, chief deputy at the San Francisco Sheriff's Office. 'It makes sense that they would use a stolen vehicle to transport these sorts of things.'
Trevor, meanwhile, said he hadn't been worried about getting stopped by police while on his return trip from Bad Jack's.
'I don't drive crazy,' he said. 'Why would I get pulled over?'
Anna Bauman contributed to this story.