There was an even split between Clark County Councilors on whether to move the firework sales allowance to “safe and sane” during a Wednesday, April 1 workshop.
The discussion follows prior workshops in which the county has weighed possible changes to fireworks regulations. While concerns of an outright ban have been raised by the public, councilors have consistently signaled that option is unlikely.
At a May 21 meeting, a large crowd turned out to oppose a fireworks ban, though that was not under consideration. Councilors said at the time they would keep an open mind of their constituent’s concerns.
Fireworks stand operators, including those supporting the Battle Ground High School Equestrian Team and American Legion Post 176 in Salmon Creek, warned that new restrictions ahead of a holiday could cut their sales by at least half, raising concerns about the impact on local nonprofits.
Last week, Clark County Fire Marshal Donna Goddard said most fireworks stands also reported lower sales in 2025 compared to the previous year, while incidents and complaints declined. Goddard could not provide specific sales figures, as most business owners declined to share complete data.
County Chair Sue Marshall then asked councilors to weigh in on whether to maintain the current rules or consider moving to a “safe and sane” model, which she described as a possible middle ground. She noted that an outright ban on fireworks would not be a feasible solution for unincorporated Clark County.
“It seems like safe and sane might be a middle ground to go to provide, I think, some degree of safety, and still allow for people to have fireworks and for the clubs to make money on (sales),” Marshall said.
According to Goddard, a safe and sane policy generally prohibits the sale and use of fireworks that fly more than 1 ft off the ground, travel over 60 ft in distance or explode in the air. That would limit legal sales to items like fountains, sparklers and other ground-based novelty fireworks.
Councilor Michelle Belkot argued the current system already reflects those limitations and said she does not support making changes.
“I'm interested in keeping things the way that they are because the fireworks that are being sold (in) the tents… are the safe and sane type,” Belkot said. “They don't go up in there. They're very limited in what they do as far as what they put off.”
“Yeah, I also don't have any interest in changing the status quo,” Councilor Matt Little added.
When asked by Councilor Wil Fuentes, county staff confirmed that the sales of far-traveling fireworks are currently allowed in unincorporated Clark County.
Marshall and Fuentes shared an interest in aligning with nearby jurisdictions such as Camas. The city banned mortar-style fireworks, effective Sept. 16 last year.
“I would consider… leaning towards, maybe, safe and sane sale of fireworks,” Fuentes said. “I wouldn't consider an outright ban. I think people (should) still enjoy fireworks, but if we can make it safer, then I think that's a direction that this council should consider moving.”
Marshall said she was open to that direction, pointing to the volume of complaints the county has received in recent years.
“I know that… on the council the first year, I received more complaints about fireworks than anything else, and I know there was a lot of damage that was done that year, three years ago,” she said. “So I would be interested in the safe and sane as well.”
Marshall asked for Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue Chief and Camas City Councilmember John Nohr, who was in attendance, to provide an overview of their recent implementation of a safe and sane ordinance. Nohr said the area has yet to see a full season of results, noting the Camas community was evenly split on the topic.
“I believe, politically speaking, if there's ever been a true darn near 50-50 split, you either like fireworks or you don't, and… it was very split and we heard a lot of feedback,” Nohr recalled. “I guess I'd have to say it tipped just a little bit to one direction, because the council did vote to limit the use of mortars.”
With councilors evenly divided and one member absent, no direction was given to staff. The discussion is expected to return when the full council is present.
If the Clark County Council moves forward with changes to fireworks sales, the new rules would take a year to take effect, meaning residents are unlikely to see any changes during the country’s 250th anniversary.
