Illegal NYE fireworks in Phoenix left neighbors upset, scared animals and dirtied the air

PHOENIX - You may have seen them, and most likely heard them.

Fireworks, all across the Valley, were set off to ring in the New Year.

Some are legal in Arizona, but others are not, like the ones that shoot into the air. However, that didn't stop many people from setting them off anyway.

We caught up with some upset neighbors, as well as an attorney to learn more about what the legalities are surrounding this way of celebrating the new year.

The nonstop firework blitz also reportedly frightened some kids and animals.

Rebeca Carvajal said, "It was just too loud to have my kids be able to sleep." They live near 28th Street and Osborn Road.

She says her little children were up all night because of them.

"I have a one and a two-year-old," Carvajal said. "They are light sleepers, so they can’t sleep through that."

On Facebook, FOX 10 asked people to weigh in on their experience on New Year's Eve.

"Last night sounded like war," wrote Katie Jones.

"I still heard them until 3:45," Christine Hammers said. Another viewer says she still heard fireworks when she woke up at 8 a.m.

A photo captured in north Phoenix by Linda Santana shows the city captured in a fog-like post-fireworks haze.

Smokey haze over Phoenix after NYE fireworks. Photo by Linda Santana

FOX 10 viewer Jordan Montanez sent in drone footage taken in Maryvale of all the fireworks that went off at midnight.

Drone footage shows NYE fireworks in Phoenix

Dozens, maybe hundreds, of fireworks were set off into the air in Phoenix late Saturday and into Sunday morning to celebrate the new year, and neighbors aren't too happy about being kept up. Jordan Montanez sent in drone footage taken in Maryvale of all the fireworks that went off at midnight.

While some were having some legal fun, others were illegal, leading many to wonder why so many were seen.

"Anybody who is shooting fireworks up in the air, that is totally illegal in the state of Arizona," says attorney Ben Taylor.

However, Taylor says it’s a very difficult law to enforce.

"The way the law is written, police have to actually witness the person actually firing the fireworks up in the air. So if police do not witness people firing the fireworks in the air, it’s hard to give them a fine," he said.

Matt Pace, a meteorologist at Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, tweeted about the amount of smoke in the air following the fireworks.