Cathedral City, CA Fire Regulations: Fireworks (2026)

Section 5614.1 of the Cathedral City Fire Code is a flat ban. The manufacture, sale, possession, storage, handling or use of "safe and sane" fireworks as currently defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 12529, or "dangerous fireworks" as currently defined in Section 12505 or thereafter amended by state statute, is prohibited in the City. Because the ban names safe and sane fireworks by their state definition, they are covered along with dangerous fireworks. The only carve-out is for fireworks displays conducted in accordance with a permit issued under the chapter.

The city once ran its own program. The editor's note to Chapter 5.80 records that it was formerly titled Sale and Discharge of Safe and Sane Fireworks and was repealed and readopted as Reserved by Ord. 835 adopted March 25, 2020. Chapter 5.80 now stands as Reserved, and the prohibition appears in Fire Code Section 5614.

Section 5614.2 covers seizure. The Fire Chief, any authorized Fire Chief, or a designee, a peace officer, or another city official authorized to enforce the Municipal Code can seize, take, remove, or cause to be removed, at the expense of the owner, all prohibited fireworks and explosives. The text reaches all persons, firms or corporations who manufacture, sell, possess, store, handle or use prohibited fireworks or explosives, so sellers, storers and users all face seizure.

Enforcement runs through the Fire Code penalty section, Section 112.4 in § 8.12.030. Violating the Fire Code or Chapter 8.12 is an infraction with a fine under § 13.65.050, and flagrant and serious violations or continued noncompliance after notice are misdemeanors under Chapter 13.70. Each day after notification of the initial violation is a separate offense, and the penalties are cumulative with other remedies, including abatement of public nuisance conditions.