The Fourth of July — a day when Americans burn through $1 billion — is still 13 days away.

Yet with each passing day, the “bombs” are bursting in Manteca with increasing frequency.

People who would demand anyone that drove down their neighborhood street firing off an AK-47 even if they didn’t hit any targets be arrested,  prosecuted  and sent to prison for 20 years are busy serenading Manteca with illegal fireworks.

It is no different than walking out your front door with a gun and firing into the sky.

It is against the law.

There is no control over where embers or bullets will land.

And both have the ability to destroy property, maim and even kill.

But what the heck.

It’s the Fourth of July.

There’s nothing more American than playing Russian roulette with property and lives.

We’re celebrating America where there is an assumption there’s a birthright not to follow the rules of a civilized society and blowing up things in the night sky.

This year there is more a stake beyond putting veterans that weren’t in make believe war zones on edge, terrorizing pets, and waking people from midnight slumbers.

The 14 atmospheric rivers weather events this past winter may mean the fire season in the higher elevations will be somewhat muted. There’s plenty of snow left plus everything is still pretty much saturated with moisture.

It’s a different world on the Central Valley floor.

Cal Fire — the people that work to prevent Californians from burning the state down — highlight the obvious when they point out there is an inordinate amount of grass and brush that has grown in the lower elevations due to heavy winter rains.

That means the fuel supply for a fire is more abundant as well as taller and denser than it has been for years.

Couple that with the summer winds that can dry things out especially when the temperatures pass 90 and the humidity drops below 40 percent,

I know. I know.

It can’t happen here.

Wonder how many people in Paradise thought that before Nov. 8, 2018?

It’s doubtful anyone in Paradise today would be very tolerant of things capable of starting  destructive fires such as illegal fireworks after having 240 square miles scorched, 18,804 homes and other buildings destroyed, 85 people killed, and property losses pushing $17 billion.

In 2021,  there were four homes in rural Manteca at the western end of Woodward Avenue that were lost to a grass fire. No big deal, right? They were homes, after all, in a mobile home park.

Conditions, however, exist here for bigger disasters even in the middle of urbanized Northern San Joaquín Valley cities.

In 2020, a grass fire destroyed four homes and heavily damaged four others in Stockton.

Fifteen years ago, a grass fire that started along Interstate 5 roared into a neighborhood not unlike what you will find in post 1980 developments in Manteca and destroyed 36 homes north of March Lane.

All it took was perhaps 100 square feet of thick weeds to be aflame and the 15 mph winds — not uncommon in the summer in this area — to carry embers to turn the rough equivalent of three blocks of tract homes into toast.

I’m not trying to be a killjoy.

Legal fireworks that don’t get airborne and stay stationery can be dangerous. But used properly that danger is minimal. It’s not like firing off an illegal mortar that is not much different than firing an AK-47 into the night sky in terms of being a reckless and dangerous act.

There is an alternative.

The city picks up the dime for the free aerial fireworks over Big League Dreams.

None of this, of course, is going to make one iota of difference to those that believe they have the right to put their neighbors at risk, disturb the peace, and give pets heart attacks.

That is why you need to download the Nail ‘em app to your smartphone. Its free thanks to the folks at TNT Fireworks who understand that the continued proliferation of illegal fireworks can ruin it for everyone.

Yes, Manteca Police will be out on force the first four days of July.  But they can only do so much. And they can’t be everywhere at the same time

Just follow the directions on the app and remember one important thing — you need to be willing to verify what your saw and recorded if the city determines it can use the administrative law process to penalize illegal behavior.

It may not come down to it, but you have to be willing to verify what went on.

Yes, it’s putting yourself out there, but on the better-society-scale it is an extremely small sacrifice compared to John Hancock’s bold and dominate signature on the Declaration of Independence.

Rest assured I have no problem following through if I use the app to catch one of my “neighbors” doing what they did last year a week before Independence Day.

One of their six mortar launches over a 20-minute period ended up partially showering down on my backyard.

I’m kind of making it sound worse than  it was, but I don’t appreciate hot debris even on a small scale falling into my backyard and terrorizing my dogs.

Since they aren’t considerate enough to send an illegal firework launch airborne so it floats into their own yard, I have no problem swearing to their reckless unneighborly acts if I’m in a position to record it this year.

 And quite frankly, I could care less if a $1,500 fine — when allowed administrative costs are added — is a financial burden to them.

They certainly can afford illegal fireworks.

And they certainly can put my property and pets at risk.

So if there is any way I can make them pay for jeopardizing the neighborhood I live in for their entertainment, I’m willing to do it.

This column is the opinion of editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. He can be reached at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com