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The city of LaGrange made it official on Tuesday, amending its noise ordinance to restrict the hours in which fireworks can be shot.

Basically, the ordinance prohibits shooting fireworks outside the hours of 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Certain holidays — the Fourth of July, New Year’s Eve, etc. — are excluded from those limitations. (You’ll still be allowed to shoot fireworks from 10 a.m. until midnight on Memorial Day weekend, and on July 3 and July 4. Fireworks can also be fired from 10 a.m. on New Year’s Eve until 1 a.m. on New Year’s Day.)

Those holidays are special occasions where people want to buy fireworks, watch fireworks and celebrate an important day in our year, so those exceptions were needed.

However, fireworks can really be a nuisance when fired any other time, and we applaud the council for taking this step.

From our offices and from our homes, we’ve all heard fireworks shot at random times throughout the year, often late at night. We heard fireworks Tuesday evening from our office.

Fireworks make it difficult for neighbors to sleep, wake little kids and often cause dogs to go haywire.

During firework-heavy holidays, vets often warn pet owners to take special precautions for their furry friends, who have no idea why they keep hearing constant explosions.

And little kids don’t get it either. Parents can plan for special occasions, but it’s really difficult when fireworks are lighting up the sky on a random, mid-week October night.    

Not to mention that it makes it hard for anyone, including adults, to sleep if there are loud bangs and pops noises by your house in the middle of the night.

We also want to point out that it’s not as if fireworks are prohibited on non-holidays. It’s just that the hours to fire them are now a lot more neighborhood-friendly. During the summer months, it’ll be difficult — if not impossible — to find a time to shoot fireworks off before 9 p.m. But most of the rest of the year, it’ll be plenty dark before then, allowing for ample time.

We appreciate the council taking action after hearing complaints from many citizens about this issue.