CAMAS — Camas officials have officially banned the sale, purchase and discharge of mortar-style fireworks.
Following a two-hour public hearing Tuesday evening that drew nearly 20 comments from members of the public on both sides of the debate, the Camas City Council voted 4-3 in favor of the mortar ban. Councilmembers Marilyn Boerke, Leslie Lewallen and Jennifer Senescu voted against the ban.
The new ordinance will go into effect in one year and will not impact New Year’s Eve and Fourth of July fireworks until Dec. 31, 2025, and July 4, 2026.
Councilor Tim Hein, who worked on the fireworks subcommittee with Councilor John Nohr and former Councilor Don Chaney, said the issue of personal fireworks is one of the biggest topics among his constituents. He said the mortar ban — which applies to aerial fireworks with reloadable tubes commonly referred to as “mortars” but does not include other aerial fireworks such as Roman candles” — was a compromise on the council’s part.
“The legislation this evening is an attempt to compromise and maybe tone it down a bit,” Hein said. “This ordinance will only be as good as everyone in the community believes it to be.”
The council has heard from hundreds of Camas citizens over the past few years.
Supporters have argued that allowing personal fireworks is tradition and helps high schools host alcohol- and drug-free end-of-the-year parties for graduating seniors thanks to an annual $5,000 donations from Mean Gene’s Fireworks.
Opponents say the risks far outweighs any benefits. They cited fire risks, the impact on veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and damage to wildlife, pets and the environment.
“This is an issue of public safety,” Ellen Burton, former Camas mayor and president of the Camas Parks and Recreation Commission, said Tuesday. “We’re investing millions of dollars to clean up our lakes and water supply, but allowing fireworks to continue to allow risks to our water, environment.”
Camas-Washougal Fire Chief Cliff Free said 2024 was the first Fourth of July in nearly 20 years (excluding 2019, when the city banned the use of personal fireworks due to extreme fire-risk conditions) that first responders have not had to transport someone to the hospital due to a fireworks-related injury.
“For the past 18 years, we have had somebody significantly burned or a digit lost,” Free said. “We have also had some sort of fire that caused significant fire damage.”
Free said “there are always going to be risks” connected to personal fireworks, adding that there are more risks when people shoot off aerial fireworks that cannot be controlled once they’re in the air.
Free said banning mortars would help reduce the two most common complaints — the noise and the fire risk associated with the larger aerial fireworks.
A representative of TNT Fireworks and the owner of Mean Gene’s Fireworks stands told the council that banning one type of fireworks could be more difficult than Camas officials realized, given many fireworks manufacturers in China bundle mortar fireworks together with Roman candles and other aerial fireworks that will still be allowed inside city limits.
Hein, who proposed the mortar ban earlier this year, said he hoped the new ordinance would give Camas residents who oppose fireworks greater leverage when discussing the issue with neighbors.
Councilor Bonnie Carter pointed out that even the Port of Camas-Washougal canceled its annual Fourth of July fireworks show after participants became aggressive toward Boy Scouts directing traffic in July 2023.
“The disrespect the Boy Scouts received at the last show they put on was outrageous,” Carter said. “So when we talk about respecting neighbors and you can’t be respectful to Boy Scouts? That’s concerning.”
Councilor Jennifer Senescu said she believed those who wanted a personal fireworks ban should take the issue up with state legislators since Washington still allows the sale, purchase and discharge of a wide range of personal fireworks.
“One of the things I want to put out there — as Camas has become surrounded by cities (including Vancouver, Washougal and Portland) that restrict fireworks, we have become a destination for those that set off fireworks,” Carter said. “And that is a huge risk.”
