The Vancouver Fire Department is reminding residents ahead of New Year’s Eve that fireworks are illegal within city limits.
In a media release Tuesday, Vancouver Fire Chief Brennan Blue and Fire Marshal Heidi Scarpelli said the ban includes Class C fireworks, such as sparklers and smoke balls. It’s also illegal to sell or purchase fireworks elsewhere and bring them into Vancouver.
“Public safety agencies spend an extraordinary amount of resources responding to fireworks-related incidents, which can have a negative effect on the response time for other life-threatening emergency calls for service,” Scarpelli said in the media release.
She told The Columbian on Wednesday that she plans to have staff on deck for enforcement on New Year’s Eve. Scarpelli added that she hopes fewer, smaller gatherings — reflective of the social distancing measures encouraged during the COVID-19 pandemic — will translate to fewer people who choose to light off fireworks.
“We really are encouraging people to celebrate in other ways and not utilize fireworks. That’s not only a higher fire risk, it’s illegal,” she said.
All fireworks have been illegal in Vancouver since 2016, a year after the city council unanimously banned their sale and use.
Earlier this month, the Clark County Council followed suit with a less restrictive ordinance. The council voted 3-2 to ban all but the Class C fireworks — also called “safe and sane” fireworks — that travel no more than 1 foot into the air and 6 feet along the ground.
The Clark County ban applies only to unincorporated areas and won’t take effect until December 2021. This year, residents outside Vancouver can still celebrate the new year with fireworks between 6 p.m. and 1 a.m., albeit for the last time.
Across the smaller cities in Clark County, rules on New Year’s Eve fireworks vary. In Camas, Yacolt and Battle Ground, both mortar and Class C fireworks are legal between 6 p.m. and 1 a.m. Washougal allows fireworks within the same window but only the “safe and sane” variety.
New Year’s Eve fireworks have been banned in Ridgefield since 2018.
To report illegal fireworks, residents should call the nonemergency line at 311 or 360-693-3111. Violations can result in fines of more than $500.
For more information about what’s legal where, visit clark.wa.gov/sites/default/files/media/document/2020-10/fireworks-discharge-times.pdf.
