Consumer fireworks banned in Jefferson County

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, June 17, 2026

PORT TOWNSEND — The Jefferson County commissioners have unanimously approved an ordinance to ban fireworks in the county.

“It’s a series of amendments to Chapter 8.75 of the Jefferson County Code,” Community Development Director Jeremy Williammee told commissioners during their meeting Monday. “The current structure of that code is that discharge of consumer fireworks is tied directly to the fire danger level, and when we hit a high level of fire danger, fireworks under current code are banned in Jefferson County.”

The new ordinance would ban fireworks across the county at all times and also introduces an escalating fine structure for violations of the policy.

“We lowered the threshold for initial offenses that increases with subsequent offenses,” Williammee said. “In addition, we’ve also clarified the authority that the county has under Title 19 to be able to hold property owners accountable for the discharge of fireworks that would occur on their property.”

In addition to banning the use of consumer fireworks, the ordinance also bans the manufacture, possession, sale, storage and transportation of fireworks.

Under the ordinance, only permitted public displays of fireworks will be allowed.

Because a countywide ban on fireworks is more restrictive than state law, the ban will not go into effect until next year.

The portion of the ordinance that deals with civil infractions under the current ordinance restricting fireworks use during high fire levels goes into effect immediately.

In the ordinance, the use of fireworks is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000 or by imprisonment in jail for a period not to exceed 90 days, or both.

“Any person who violates any provision of this chapter may be issued a notice of infraction,” the ordinance states. “The penalty for an infraction issued to a person who violates any provision of this chapter shall be $250 for first offense; $500 for second offense; and $1,000 for any subsequent violation of this chapter. For each violation of a continuing nature, each day shall constitute a separate infraction, subject to a daily penalty.”

The purpose of the ordinance and fine structure is to provide the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the county a set of tools for enforcement, Williammee said.

“This will all ultimately be up to the discretion of the sheriff and the deputies who are responding about what the appropriate violation of penalty might be to assess, but the idea was to make sure that we had a baseline, so basically expanding the potential infractions that are available,” he said. “So, at any time, regardless of the level of fire danger, there is an escalating series of civil infractions.”

During the public hearing for the ordinance, one comment commissioners heard was a request for the public to be able to self-report their neighbors for fireworks use by sending in photos or videos as evidence.

“I would be cautious about recording someone else on their own property,” Sheriff Andy Pernsteiner said. “If you’re recording them in their backyard, that’s their private area, so therefore you shouldn’t be recording them there, and it would be illegal to do so. Obviously, if they’re out in the middle of the road shooting up bottle rockets, by all means, you can take pictures and video to show it to the office.”

It’s going to take a while for behaviors to change and for county residents and visitors to adapt to the new rules, Pernsteiner said.

“We want to change people’s behavior, and I think just getting it out there and educating the public not to buy the fireworks, if we could stop the sales of them, then obviously they’re not able to get them and it makes it a lot easier, and I think it’s not going to be quick and easy,” he said. “It’s going to take a couple years, but I think we can get there.”

While deliberating, Commissioner Heather Dudley-Nollette referenced a 2011 fire at Beckett Point that was determined to be caused by fireworks.

“I will say personally my parents’ yard was ground zero for that fire,” she said. “It was the yard from which that fire was fought. We were on pins and needles to determine whether my parents’ house was going to survive the night, and it’s unnecessary. It’s just unnecessary to put people’s lives and property at risk in that way.”

Commissioner Heidi Eisenhour stated her support of the ordinance is tied to the fear fireworks instill in pets.

“I get a lot of comments from people about watching their dogs tremble, and that’s just kind of heartbreaking that we would choose to torture our beloved blatantly,” she said.

At the request of the Jefferson County Republican Party, the county will gather data linking fireworks to fire danger and provide it to the community.

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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.