DELTA/MONTROSE Colo. (KKCO) KKCO wanted to know what's the point of buying or selling fireworks with the total ban? There are two fireworks tents in Montrose, versus 4 last year. Business owners say the fireworks ban has brought a lot of mis-perceptions and confusion; along with dealing a devastating blow to local business.

"4th of July is my favorite holiday, so it's kinda getting me right here that we can't see anything, says Todd Albo, a Pueblo resident traveling through Montrose on his way home with his family after a vacation on the Western Slope. "I try to save them, but I haven't seen too many stands, so we figured we might come by," says Albo, as he chats with me after buying some fireworks at Mountain Man Fireworks in Montrose.

Albo didn't see a fireworks stand the last two cities on the road.
"We bought some little poppies, harmless snakes; might not light them off; I don't want the governor on my back or anything like that," says Albo. He wanted to buy some when he could. "We'll buy them, put them away; when you can use them; their won't be any stand to buy them." And Albo wanted to support a local business. "You've gotta have this guy make a little money."

"We've had bans in the past that marginally impacted sales," says Aileen Logan, owner of Mountain Man Fireworks in Montrose.
Logan has been selling fireworks for 11 years. "This ban, this year, for whatever reason; the hysteria with the fires, has really affected business," explain Logan.

Fireworks normally make up half of her income. "People are listening so much on the news about the ban being complete and total, that they don't realize that fireworks are sold once a year, and they can use them all year," she says.

Logan says the unsold inventory is boxed up and sent back to a fireworks company in Denver. "It hurts the manufacturers, the suppliers, the distributors, the wholesalers, everybody," comments Logan.

And it leaves the rest of us to wait for next year. "We recorded last year's fireworks display, so we might be watching that tonight,"(Wednesday) says Albo, just before he hits the road to head back to Pueblo.

Mountain Man Fireworks plans to stay open until possibly Saturday, before closing up shop. The other fireworks store in Montrose wasn't interested in talking to us. Remember you can buy fireworks now in Delta and Montrose county, but you can't use them until the ban is lifted.

The use of all fireworks are banned, not even sparklers! Violators face a class three misdemeanor and a fine of up to $750.