<p>Demand for now-legal sparklers has been so explosive that store managers have been restocking shelves almost as fast as they can get them.</p><p>"We've already filled our shelves a couple of times since we've gotten the first shipment in May," said Asia Trutti, operational supervisor for discount store Fred's. "They are just selling extremely well."</p><p>Long illegal in Georgia, sparklers now are allowed thanks to a bill signed into law last month. Any small-charge sparkling fountain, as long as it doesn't shoot in the air, is now legal.</p><p>After a heated debate, lawmakers voted this session to change Georgia's fireworks ban to allow sparklers, arguing that the law was seldom enforced and outdated.</p><p>Trutti said the store has sold more than 150 packages of sparklers since they hit the stores. She said poppers, which snap when they hit the ground, are also popular.</p><p>Kmart stores across the state have also reported high sales, said store manager Steve Foster.</p><p>"I've been selling a ton," Foster said. "Sparkler sales are booming."</p><p>The law does not prohibit anyone under 18 to possess sparklers, but they cannot purchase them.</p><p>State fire officials and child health care advocates have warned of the danger of burn injuries if people aren't careful.</p><p>They say that Georgia, unlike all five of its neighbors, hasn't allowed fireworks for so long that even parents wouldn't have had firecracker safety lessons when they were in school. Officials also are concerned that small retailers won't know how to safely store the product.</p><p>Some cities, such as Covington, have passed ordinances banning sparklers. In Houston County, fire chiefs worried that sparklers will soon be sold in tents in Wal-Mart parking lots are urging local officials to outlaw the combustibles.</p><p>Anyone purchasing sparklers must present photo identification, and violators can be fined up to $100 for each transaction.</p><p>Roman candles, cherry bombs, firecrackers, skyrockets and other fireworks are still illegal in the state. Violators could face a maximum fine of up to $1,000 and up to one year in jail.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x1cdc198)</p>
