Sky Valley citizens have reached out to elected officials in both Sultan and Monroe asking about the possibly of banning fireworks. This year's exceptionally dry weather conditions have given many residents cause for concern.
City staff in Monroe researched the regulatory provisions surrounding fireworks in the state of Washington, and discovered that state law prohibits municipalities from imposing an outright ban on fireworks without a 12-month waiting period. Washington State RCW 70.77.250(4) states: "Any ordinances adopted by a county or city that are more restrictive than state law shall have an effective date no sooner than one year after their adoption.GÇ¥
As such, only the state has the authority to impose a ban on fireworks that would take place immediately. As of July 2, Gov. Jay Inslee had not introduced a fireworks ban, but did recently release a statement strongly encouraging citizens to forgo the use of fireworks this year.
"Fireworks, while often part of our Fourth of July celebration, pose an increased risk with the extremely dry conditions we're experiencing this year,GÇ¥ said Inslee in a June 26 press release. "We're strongly urging people to not use them this year and celebrate in a different way.GÇ¥
The Snohomish County Fire District No. 1 Board of Commissioners requested that the Snohomish County Council implement a fireworks ban, but they were unable to do so because of state law. Instead, the council passed a resolution on Wednesday, July 1, urging Snohomish County residents to exercise caution and be mindful of the hazardous conditions.
"It's always important that people use only legal fireworks and that they do so in a responsible manner,GÇ¥ said Snohomish County Council Chairman Dave Somers. "However, given the presence of such dry conditions, we cannot stress enough how critical it is for our residents to take every precaution.GÇ¥
Both the city of Sultan and the town of Skykomish have no restrictions on the sale or use of fireworks in city limits. In the city of Monroe, fireworks may be sold from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. from Monday, June 29, through Saturday, July 4, and utilized from 9 a.m. to midnight on Saturday, July 4 only. Fireworks may be used in the town of Index between the hours of 9 a.m. and midnight on Saturday, July 4 only.
Fireworks are banned in the city of Gold Bar. Gold Bar's ordinance banning the sale and use of fireworks was established in 1948.
Snohomish County fire districts 3, 26 and 5 would like to dissuade all residents from using illegal fireworks, particularly air-bound fireworks like bottle rockets and sky rockets. Firecrackers, salutes, chasers, bottle rockets, sky rockets and any missile-type rockets are illegal and must be purchased and utilized on an Indian reservation only.
District No. 5 is strongly encouraging residents to utilize legal fireworks only, have water readily available, use a yard sprinkler prior to lighting off fireworks, only use fireworks on the Fourth of July, stay vigilant while lighting them off and watch for flying embers, never allow children to light fireworks unsupervised and have at least one adult dedicated to safety.
For further information on staying safe this Fourth of July, please visit: http://www.monroefire.org/, or the Snohomish County Fire District No. 5 Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/Snofire5?fref=nf.
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