SNOHOMISH — The City Council may decide as soon as March 4 whether to make fireworks illegal in town starting as soon as 2026.
A public hearing on altering fireworks laws is set for the March 4 council meeting. The council meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the Snohomish Carnegie Building.
Currently, the city’s laws only allow using fireworks on the Fourth of July.
Over the past three Fourth of Julys, there were a few small fires in the wider area caused by fireworks, according to Snohomish Fire data gathered by the city.
Last August, a majority of City Council members voiced that fireworks use should be banned within city limits, giving burn risks and jarring noise among reasons why.
The city prepared a sample law that bans the general public from using or selling fireworks at any time. The penalty is still to be determined. Public fireworks displays, such as at sports events, would be allowed if a licensed pyrotechnician does the show.
Fireworks stands would also be banned.
The state requires any local ban to have a one-year lag before being put into law.
The council can authorize the ban on its own if it chooses.
An alternative is to conduct a public advisory poll by asking voters’ opinions through a ballot measure. The city has missed the deadline to file something on April’s special election ballot, meaning the next shot is August.
In the past 10 years, more cities have added fireworks bans, such as Marysville and Mill Creek. The county banned fireworks use in all of southwest unincorporated county as of 2022, and fireworks sales in those areas became illegal this year. Larger cities such as Everett have had a fireworks ban in place for more than a decade.
A past city advisory vote in 2016 found 54% of voters didn’t want a ban. In 2023, the City Council decided against asking voters again through a new advisory vote.
