Jessie Stensland reports for the Whidbey News-Times from the Island County Commissioners work session of Wed., Jun. 21, 2023.
New restrictions on fireworks have been proposed in the unincorporated areas of Island County, but they won’t go into effect until 2025 if adopted.
Island County Commissioner Melanie Bacon, who has been advocating for a fireworks ban, recently proposed a compromise that seems to have the support of her fellow commissioners…. Bacon proposed a couple of changes to county code. The first would prohibit mortar-style fireworks, which are shells loaded into a tube one at a time and then lit to launch colorful aerial displays. The Seattle Times reported that nearly 40% of injuries come from mortar-style fireworks, which are legal under state law.
In addition, Bacon proposed prohibiting fireworks on July 5 altogether. Currently, legal fireworks are allowed in unincorporated areas of Island County on July 3-5 and on Dec. 31.
They Said It
Island County Commissioner Jill Johnson has consistently been opposed to an all-out ban while Commissioner Janet St. Clair announced in April that, after contemplation, she also couldn’t support such a ban.
St. Clair said she supported the proposal as written. Johnson said she was on board with the ban on mortars, but she questioned cutting out July 5. She pointed out that she had compromised previously in limiting the days of fireworks and wondered if fireworks opponents would continue to chip away in the future.
In an interview, Bacon conceded that her proposal isn’t likely to make people happy on either side of the fireworks divide.
Indeed, Langley Councilmember Craig Cyr, a member of the group who succeeded in getting fireworks banned in his city, said in a statement that the proposal does little to address “the broad spectrum of environmental, health and public safety issues related to consumer fireworks.”
“Each day the commissioners delay is a disservice to the residents of Island County,” he wrote. “Their anemic response will see the noise continue. The air, land and water pollution continue. And the fire danger continue. It is way past time to ban fireworks island wide.”
