PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — As Fourth of July celebrations ramped up, firework reports quickly rose around the Portland area.

Although fireworks have been banned in Portland since 2022, every year there are still instances of fireworks being set off, including just days ago when a fire was started in the Hazelwood neighborhood after a group of kids was seen lighting fireworks.

To avoid overloading 911 with calls, this year the city has rolled out a new online form where Portlanders can report fireworks.

On Saturday, Portland Fire & Rescue officials told KOIN 6 News that, as of midnight, “we had 4000 fireworks reports entered into the system.”

That number is dramatically higher than the nearly 1000 reports they had at 9:30 a.m. Friday.

On Thursday, the number was at around 500 reports,

Graves told KOIN 6 that the form helps officials identify hotspots so they can better focus on enforcement areas as needed.

“It’s allowing us to see hotspots, which we’ve seen,” Graves said. “There’s some concentrated spots that might allow us in the future to do a better job of either education or maybe having the ability to focus, enforcement in those hotspots areas.”

This year, Portland Police Chief Bob Day also instructed officers to issue citations and seize personal fireworks from anyone caught using them.

Injuries

KOIN 6 News contacted local hospitals to check on injuries from fireworks. Legacy Health officials said they saw more fireworks injuries this year than in previous years — 10 people from across the state of Oregon — and they also saw a spike in facial injuries.

In the past, there were more hand injuries Legacy Health said.

Legacy Health is a Level-1 Trauma Center, meaning they are equipped to handle the most serious injuries.