The aerial fireworks that are smuggled into Hawaii by the tons create a real risk for both people and places throughout the islands. Loose sparks in dry grass or wildland could burn down a town, block or building, and loose aerial fireworks can maim or kill — there’s no denying it. The potentially deadly practice of buying black-market fireworks and shooting them off at will must be stopped, with aggressive enforcement, effective deterrent penalties and targeted efforts to detect and confiscate the combustibles at points of entry to the state.

There should be no mistake about this newspaper’s stance on this issue, so we’ll stake that out first.

But sparklers and other minimally combustible, low-risk fireworks, called “consumer fireworks,” are another story. It must be noted that eliminating these much safer products more than a decade ago has actually made Oahu’s fireworks problem worse, and a course correction is appropriate.

In 2010, the Honolulu City Council banned these consumer fireworks — and after one year of relative quiet, a surge in black market fireworks sales began, with few signs of waning today. No longer do families gather in driveways to wave sparklers or set grounded fountains sparking. Instead, illegal use of booming “bomb” explosives and fiery aerials that shower flammable debris down on homes and land below has become common.

The City Council is considering Bill 22, which would reverse the city’s current ban of small, nonaerial fireworks such as sparklers and cone fountains, during designated periods (New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July), and with a permit. The bill would align Honolulu with Hawaii, Kauai and Maui counties, which allow sales of these consumer fireworks, and should be enacted.

Because illegal aerials and “bombs” remain a growing concern, a permit process for sparklers and ground-level fountains is justified. On Oahu, funds generated from permits should be used for additional enforcement efforts directed at the more dangerous and illegal combustibles, as well as safety and education efforts.

Bill 22 also would reform the fireworks permit process to make it more accessible and less unwieldy. It would allow permits to be sold at licensed retail locations during the same time period firecrackers are sold, and is comparable to the process Hawaii County uses. Honolulu’s current permitting system seems designed to discourage people from using it: A permit can only be applied for and filled out online, but it must be picked up in person at one of four Satellite City Hall locations during office hours in a specified five-day period — with no guarantee that firecrackers will then be available.

The problem of aerials is frankly far from controlled, but it is these illegal pyrotechnics that are causing almost all of the reported problems with “fireworks,” and that must be acknowledged. It’s gratifying to see that recent efforts to seize illegal aerial fireworks and other illegal explosives are gathering steam.

This year’s Legislature passed House Bill 2193, now on the governor’s desk, to allow for stepped-up enforcement, authorizing state agents deployed by the Hawaii Department of Law Enforcement’s Illegal Fireworks Taskforce to inspect premises that are licensed to sell or store fireworks. This should help verify the law is being followed and ensure that legal and illegal pyrotechnics aren’t commingled.

Increased work to keep illegal aerial fireworks out justifies opening a “release valve” that gives fireworks enthusiasts a legal, low-risk alternative to express the exuberance and celebratory mood of the Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve. Allowing permitted consumer fireworks is proper, and should be supported.