Several large landowners in my county are complaining about fireworks being shot off of county roads onto their property. This past 4th of July there were many grass fires resulting from this activity. The landowners are asking the commissioners to institute a burn ban, which would effectively ban fireworks. The commissioners are reluctant to take this step, which may not even be possible given our moisture levels. The landowners have asked what the Sheriff can do, but I am not aware of any law directly addressing this. We have discussed criminal mischief, littering, criminal trespass...even attempted arson. Do any of you have any ideas as to what offense could be used to put some teeth into enforcement actions? In short, what law, if any, is being broken when a person fires a bottle rocket onto another person's land without the landowner's consent?

John, I'm not an expert, but I ran the same drill over Christmas....rural community in our county...one guy shooting fireworks which drifted on to neighbors land. No damages, just a p-oed neighbor. From my research, I concluded I could not charge a criminal offense given the facts. I relied on Occupations Code, Section 2154.251, "Prohibited Use of Fireworks," and the fact that none of those prohibitions in (a) (1) through (8) prohibit such conduct. Lived in LBB '71 to '76...still miss it.