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'Sounds like a warzone': Vancouverites share videos of noisy fireworks on Halloween night

Some locals reported that fireworks were still being let off at 7 a.m. Tuesday morning.
Elana Shepert
Elana Shepert
fireworks-vancouver-halloween-2022
Numerous locals took to social media to share images and videos of fireworks in their Vancouver neighbourhoods. The loud booms and crackling pops were heard at all hours.Photo via @Flanders1234 and @anthony604/Twitter

If you found it difficult to sleep on Halloween night, you are far from alone. 

While the City of Vancouver's fireworks ban came into effect on Nov. 1, 2020, there has been noisy theatrics each Halloween following the ban -- as well as damages. 

In 2021, for example, Vancouver Fire Rescue Services (VFRS) reported at least $10,000 in damages directly from fireworks, as well as $170,000 in damages from the weekend (although many of the incidents were unrelated to fireworks). 

Around 10 a.m. on Halloween day this year, VFRS tweeted that they would be patrolling neighbourhoods in the evening and responding to complaints submitted to the city's 311 service. They added that they would issue fines for people using fireworks in the city as no one had applied for permits and therefore "all fireworks are illegal."

Numerous locals took to social media to share images and videos of fireworks in their neighbourhoods. The loud booms and crackling pops were heard at all hours. People shared videos of sparkling spectacles over English Bay, residential areas, downtown, and more. 

While a couple of people mentioned that they missed the fireworks, most of them said the ban did not prevent people from letting them off. 

Locals shared a variety of displays across the Lower Mainland. 

Numerous people expressed anger at how long the combustible displays lasted, with several people reporting that they continued into the wee hours of the morning.

Many people were upset on behalf of their furry best pals. The BC SPCA says the noise from exploding fireworks can be terrifying to animals, causing them to "bust through door screens or even windows to run away." 

Many animals suffer severe injuries out of panic induced by the booming sounds. Fireworks also frighten, disorient and disturb wild animals.