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  • Luis Martin pulls the roof on a large tent as...

    Luis Martin pulls the roof on a large tent as crews build a giant structure that will serve as a "fireworks superstore" beginning Sunday in the Honda Center parking lot in Anaheim.

  • Israel Zarco tosses a rope over the structure of one...

    Israel Zarco tosses a rope over the structure of one of two 3,000-square-foot tents as crews build a giant shade structure that will serve as a "fireworks superstore" beginning Sunday in the Honda Center parking lot in Anaheim.

  • Workers raise one of two 3,000-square-foot tents that will serve...

    Workers raise one of two 3,000-square-foot tents that will serve as a "fireworks superstore" beginning Sunday in the Honda Center parking lot in Anaheim.

  • Kevin Nadeau, Orange County Sheriff's Department Bomb Squad investigator, shows...

    Kevin Nadeau, Orange County Sheriff's Department Bomb Squad investigator, shows a sample of what an illegal explosive commonly known as "M-80" looks like, and photographs of injuries caused by it, during a press conference at OCFA – RFOTC 1 Fire Authority Road in Irvine.

  • Children like Ethan Wade, shown here in 2012, will again...

    Children like Ethan Wade, shown here in 2012, will again have a chance to purchase and use fireworks in Huntington Beach after voters approved “Safe and Sane” fireworks in the city. The pyrotechnics are being sold at 15 sites in the city through Saturday.

  • Wyatt Kahl, 5, of Orange checks out some of the...

    Wyatt Kahl, 5, of Orange checks out some of the fireworks for sale at a stand at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Monday.

  • Roger Rowles and his wife Denise leave with their recently...

    Roger Rowles and his wife Denise leave with their recently purchased $199.99 box of fireworks at the big TNT fireworks stand in the parking lot of the Honda Center in Anaheim Monday afternoon.

  • Workers restock at the big TNT fireworks stand in the...

    Workers restock at the big TNT fireworks stand in the parking lot of the Honda Center in Anaheim Monday afternoon.

  • Seven-year-old Eva Griffin shops with her grandfather, Mike Anderson at...

    Seven-year-old Eva Griffin shops with her grandfather, Mike Anderson at a big TNT fireworks stand in the parking lot of the Honda Center in Anaheim Monday afternoon.

  • Wyatt Kahl, 5 of Orange, checks out some of the...

    Wyatt Kahl, 5 of Orange, checks out some of the fireworks for sale at a big TNT fireworks stand in the parking lot of the Honda Center in Anaheim Monday afternoon.

  • Lydia Park grabs a box of fireworks selling for $199.99...

    Lydia Park grabs a box of fireworks selling for $199.99 for Roger Rowles to buy at a big TNT fireworks stand in the parking lot of the Honda Center in Anaheim Monday afternoon.

  • The TNT fireworks stand in the parking lot of the...

    The TNT fireworks stand in the parking lot of the Honda Center is being billed as the biggest stand in California.

  • Workers restock at the TNT fireworks stand being billed as...

    Workers restock at the TNT fireworks stand being billed as the biggest in California and is located in the parking lot of the Honda Center in Anaheim Monday afternoon.

  • Workers restock at the TNT fireworks stand being billed as...

    Workers restock at the TNT fireworks stand being billed as the biggest in California and is located in the parking lot of the Honda Center in Anaheim Monday afternoon.

  • Roger Rowles and his wife wife Denise Rowles shop for...

    Roger Rowles and his wife wife Denise Rowles shop for fireworks at a big TNT fireworks stand in the parking lot of the Honda Center in Anaheim Monday afternoon.

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On Sunday, a pop-up retail operation that bills itself as the world’s biggest fireworks stand started selling everything from sparklers to smoke bombs from booths in the parking lot at the Honda Center.

It’s the first time in decades that fireworks have been sold legally in Anaheim, which banned the practice after a 1986 Fourth of July fire that took out dozens of apartments.

Anaheim is one of 10 cities in the county now permitting fireworks sales. A decade ago, only five cities in the county were allowing fireworks.

Yes, the drought continues. And, yes, tinder dry conditions make the county vulnerable to even a spark.

And, yes, firefighters are wary.

“We’re telling people to celebrate with care and to use common sense,” said Anaheim Fire Chief Randy Bruegman.

“If we do that, we’ll be fine,” Bruegman added. “If we don’t, then it’s going to be a very busy night.”

The spokesman for the Orange County Fire Authority, Capt. Steve Concialdi, was more blunt.

“If you live in a city that allows fireworks and you insist on having your own show, then we suggest that you keep a couple of water buckets nearby to keep things under control,” Concialdi said.

“But there’s really only one way to see a fireworks show and stay safe. That’s by seeing a public display.”

POLITICS OF FIRE

Along with Anaheim, so-called Safe and Sane fireworks that don’t shoot into the sky are legal in Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Santa Ana, Stanton, Villa Park and Westminster.

Huntington Beach will reignite its on-and-off-again relationship with fireworks, thanks to a ballot measure approved in November. Pyrotechnics were banned in Surf City for more than 20 years, but in 2012 the City Council agreed to temporarily lift the restriction for two years to see what would happen.

Increased police calls and seizures of illegal fireworks prompted city officials to reinstate the ban last year. Voters overturned that restriction with the approval of Measure T, which permitted the use and sale of fireworks.

Huntington Beach Councilman Jim Katapodis said there are strong arguments on the side of public safety pitted against the economic boost that fireworks sales provide to local charities.

“It’s going to bring in more illegal fireworks; that’s just the way it works, and that’s starting already,” Katapodis said. “But the positive elements, helping Little League (and programs like it), that’s a real plus. I think they really need the shot in the arm.”

Most Orange County cities continue to ban fireworks sales, including Mission Viejo and Rancho Santa Margarita, which contain wilderness areas susceptible to wildfires.

“Most of South County is adjacent to open space,” said Mission Viejo Assistant City Manager Keith Rattay. “That’s probably the largest reason why South County cities have banned them.”

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s bomb squad confiscated about 1,000 pounds of pyrotechnics last year as part of an effort to tamp potential fires and injuries during Fourth of July celebrations, said sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Hallock.

Last week, a 29-year-old man was arrested after Garden Grove police found 1,000 pounds of illegal fireworks in his home. Undercover officers from Santa Ana seized 650 pounds of illegal fireworks during a sweep earlier this month.

Even though Safe and Sane fireworks are allowed in Santa Ana, 70-year-old resident Charles Chop said he doesn’t agree with the policy.

“They’re always a mess,” Chop said. “People could spend their money much wiser in other ways.”

INJURY RISK IS REAL

Last year, there were 27 injuries related to fireworks in Orange County, according to Orange County Fire Authority data. The most common injuries were to hands and fingers.

Each year, the burn units at UC Irvine Medical Center and Orange County Global Medical Center each treat about 10 patients – usually men and teenage boys – for severe burns caused by lighting legal and illegal fireworks as a way to celebrate America’s independence.

Last year, some teenagers lit several fireworks that were stuffed down a friend’s pants while attempting to replicate a stunt they saw on the MTV reality-prank program “Jackass,” said Dr. Andrea Dunkelman of Orange County Global Medical Center’s burn unit.

The boy suffered second-degree burns that required several surgeries.

At UC Irvine Medical Center’s burn unit, Dr. Nicole Bernal said she had to amputate two fingers off a young man who was holding a firecracker that exploded prematurely.

“We work with a lot of firemen who stress that there’s no such thing as Safe and Sane fireworks, which is just a marketing ploy,” Bernal said.

“No matter what you say, they’re all dangerous.”

SALES HELP ANAHEIM NONPROFITS

While much of Orange County outlaws fireworks, Garden Grove expanded the area where 45 local nonprofit groups are allowed to set up stands, removing the prohibition of stands along Katella Avenue, between Dale and Euclid streets.

That area had been off-limits to nonprofits to prevent Anaheim residents from crossing into Garden Grove to purchase pyrotechnics. Anaheim’s recent legalization of Safe and Sane fireworks made the prohibition irrelevant, Garden Grove city officials said.

The return of fireworks sales in Anaheim comes after voters approved a measure in November that allows the City Council to determine where and when they could be used. Pyrotechnics are largely allowed in the city, except for the area southeast of the 91 and 55 freeways.

Anaheim Arena Management, the private company that manages the city-owned Honda Center, is in charge of the city’s sole superstore and will retain 60 percent of the profits from fireworks sales, which will go toward staffing and building the sales booths. An additional 30 percent will be split among 61 nonprofit organizations through a revenue-sharing plan organized by Anaheim Arena Management. Ten percent of profits will go to the Anaheim Community Foundation.

Participating groups will distribute fliers that must be presented at the time of fireworks sales to ensure a portion of the profits. Those who forget to bring the fliers can print them from computers that will be available at the Honda Center, officials said.

Junior Chavez, president of the North Anaheim Little League, said he was initially skeptical of the arrangement but is now pleased.

“The Honda Center is basically running the whole program, and all we have to do is hand out fliers at no cost to us,” Chavez said. “Even if we just end up getting $500, that’s money we didn’t have before. But if we promote it, then it’s really up to us on how much we end up raising.”

Staff writers Greg Mellen, Chris Haire, Tomoya Shimura, Shane Newell and Alison Glander contributed

to this report.

Contact the writer: 714-704-3769 or amarroquin@ocregister.com