062919_fireworks

PORT ANGELES – County Commissioners continued their efforts at establishing a current fireworks ordinance that will expand on state law.

Commissioners have taken input from throughout the county and are trying to tailor the ordinance to best meet the varied opinions of county residents.

Debate on the ordinance has been going on for the last two years. Clallam County does not have a fireworks ordinance in place and follows current state laws. Since this is a slightly new proposal, it will require a public hearing.

Commissioner Mark Ozias said that this current proposal includes a small change that requires they go through a public hearing process.

“There’s really nothing substantial that’s changed from last time. There’s been a small technical update in the language around fire danger that just indicates that when the Department of Natural Resources calls fire danger is at a certain level that that’s an automatic trigger. So other than that, really nothing has changed substantially since we last discussed it we had to work session at just because it’s a new ordinance and it’s part of our process.  We got to work session it before we you know call for a public hearing and hold the public hearing.”

Ozias went into more detail on two aspects of the ordinance that deal with fire danger restrictions and geographic designations for fireworks use.

“Clallam County is somewhat unique really in that we have never developed a fireworks ordinance. What we’re proposing here in Clallam County is in essence a compromise that addresses the concern that all the commissioners had about fire danger when the forest experts the Department of Natural Resources makes a call that that should serve as an automatic trigger in terms of the actual use of fireworks areas west of the Elwha River will go ahead and continue to follow state law and east of the Elwha river this new ordinance would propose a new limitation that would allow for the use of fireworks only on the Fourth of July.”

This county ordinance would only deal with the discharge periods allowed for fireworks and would not address the sales period currently allowed in Sequim and Forks. Currently, Port Angeles has banned both sales and discharge of fireworks year-round.

 

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