SEQUIM — Vendors and retailers will no longer be able to sell fireworks next fall in the city of Sequim.
City council members unanimously approved the ban Oct. 14 following a public hearing. Their motion will bring an ordinance to the consent agenda to ban fireworks sales at their Oct. 28 meeting and, if approved, the restriction would go into effect in one year, per state law, starting in October 2025.
The decision comes seven-plus years after the city prohibited the discharge of fireworks and sky lanterns in July 2017.
City residents favored banning the discharge of fireworks in a November 2016 advisory vote with 65.6 percent in favor (2,642 votes). However, city council members concurrently approved the discharge ban and opted not to ban the sale of fireworks so nonprofits which operate booths could still raise funds.
Randall Cearley, a TNT Fireworks area manager, was the lone person to speak against the ban via a conference call on Oct. 14. He said the number of complaints are minimal compared to the number of residents who purchase fireworks in the city and that the city should work with organizers to have more signage.
“TNT Fireworks is always in favor of a safe Fourth of July,” he said.
Two emails the city received were in favor of keeping fireworks sales to support nonprofits, whereas four other citizens wrote in support of a ban.
Jim Stoffer, representing Trinity United Methodist Church, adjacent to Carrie Blake Community Park Sequim, said he stopped three different families on July 4 from lighting off fireworks in the church parking lot and adjacent grass field.
He said visitors don’t know the difference between county and city lines, and there’s a lot of confusion.
Lorri Gilchrist, who has lived in Sequim for 22 years, said she’s had her mailbox blown up by fireworks, her dogs have been terrorized, and she’s concerned about veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“It’s very confusing to sell fireworks and then not allow them to be set off,” she said. “We need to be one way or the other.”
She shared a concern for wildland fires and added that a former neighbor’s house burned down due to fireworks.
“I think giving (nonprofits) a whole year after this gives them time to adjust and find a new way to raise money,” she said.
Sales
Under Sequim Municipal Code, fireworks sales will be allowed one more summer, from June 28 through July 5, 2025, with one booth allowed per 1,500 city residents. Booth permits are given first preference to local nonprofit groups benefiting youth, and second preference to other local nonprofits.
The city’s three booths in 2024 included Sequim Vineyard at Walmart, Seattle International Christian Church at Safeway and Big Dog Fireworks at Hardy’s Market.
Sequim fire marshal Joel Dressel previously said a sales ban only applies to the sale of consumer fireworks and not trick and novelty devices such as Pop-its, Snap-N-Pops and Party Poppers. He also holds the ability to stop sales if there is a high fire danger.
While the city does not allow the discharge of fireworks, Clallam County allows fireworks to be discharged only on July 4 in unincorporated areas, unless there is a high fire danger.
Jefferson County allows the discharge of fireworks from June 28 through July 5 at various times.
As part of the ban, Sequim city council members budgeted to start a public display on the Fourth of July at Carrie Blake Community Park. Council member Kathy Downer said the city is not planning or discussing stopping that show.
She prompted a discussion on the ban of fireworks sales in August because she felt it’s misleading that people can’t shoot them off in Sequim while sales are allowed.
“It gives them a feeling they can shoot them off,” she said in an interview.
Complaints
Sequim Police chief Mike Hill said there have been 26 fireworks complaints the last three years in city limits compared with 81-102 for the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office and 62-70 for the Port Angeles Police Department.
He said there were 11 fireworks complaints this past July 4 between 7 p.m. and midnight. Four were found to be in unincorporated Clallam County, one for the city’s fireworks show, and another resident called multiple times and officers were either not able to find the fireworks or they were in the county.
Hill said officers always receive voluntary compliance from residents to stop, as was the case this year.
Officers can offer verbal warnings, seize fireworks, and if complaints persist, they can charge an individual with a gross misdemeanor, a fine up to $5,000 or 364 days in jail, according to city code.
Clallam County Fire District 3 reported all fireworks-related fire calls this past July 4 were in the city of Sequim, with no fireworks calls in Sequim’s portion of unincorporated Clallam County.
Council member Rachel Anderson said on Oct. 14 that islands of unincorporated Clallam County in or near city limits can be confusing regarding fireworks. She hopes the city can address the confusion in the future because, despite some residents’ frustration, “in a lot of cases, (county residents) have every right to (shoot fireworks) if they’re in one of those islands.”
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him by email at matthew.nash@sequimgazette.com.
