CALAVERAS COUNTY, Calif. — All fireworks use in Calaveras County has been banned until a month before 2021 ends out of a precaution against high fire danger.
The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously 5-0 on the ban of all recreational fireworks effective immediately and running through Nov. 30, 2021.
The ordinance bans “all possession, sale, and use of fireworks” in the county unless they are part of a public fireworks display “conducted with the written authorization of the relevant fire district chief.”
“In order to effectively prohibit the use and discharge of fireworks, it is also necessary to prohibit the sale of fireworks; if fireworks are readily available within the County, any prohibition on use will be largely ineffective without a sizable and cost-prohibitive policing effort,” the board wrote.
The board cited studies from Cal Fire, regarding this year’s fire activity, and the National Fire Protection Association, regarding estimates on fires caused by fireworks, in reaching their decision. It is unclear what punishment violators might face.
Calaveras County’s ordinance goes much further than other local ordinances, like Sacramento County, which recently passed an ordinance aimed at cracking down on illegal fireworks use.
