Josephine County, OR Fire Regulations: Fireworks (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Josephine County Code § 12.05.130(B)
- Park fireworks
- prior written permission from Parks Director required
- Also barred, § 12.05.130(A)
- discharging firearms or missile-launching devices in parks
- Enforcing agency
- Parks Director's designated Enforcement Officers
- Penalty
- unclassified violation fine, doubled for a corporation
- Home business ban
- fireworks storage/sale barred as a home occupation
Summary
Josephine County Code bars anyone from possessing or using firecrackers, fireworks, or other explosive devices in a county park without the Parks Director's prior written permission. The prohibition sits in § 12.05.130 alongside bans on discharging firearms or other missile-launching devices, and it is enforced the same way as every other park violation in Chapter 12.05.
§ 12.05.130. Prohibited acts – Weapons, fireworks and explosives. ... ... B. To possess or use any type of firecracker, firework or other type of explosive device without the prior written permission of the Director or Director's designee;
Full Breakdown
130, Prohibited Acts - Weapons, Fireworks and Explosives, makes it unlawful in any Josephine County park to discharge a firearm, pellet gun, slingshot, bow and arrow, or crossbow, or any device that launches a missile or can injure a person or damage property (subsection A). Subsection (B) separately targets fireworks: possessing or using any firecracker, firework, or other explosive device is prohibited unless the user has the Parks Director's or the Director's designee's prior written permission, meaning even a small consumer firework needs sign-off before it can be lit in a park.
Subsection (C) bars hunting, trapping, chasing, or otherwise molesting wildlife in a park. 180. 080(A)(2). Together the two provisions mean fireworks use is permission-only on county park land and fireworks storage or sale is barred from home-based businesses countywide, though the code does not set a separate general discharge ban for private residential property in the unincorporated area.
Violations & Fines
Fireworks violations in a park are cited by a Director-designated Enforcement Officer and prosecuted in Josephine County Circuit Court as unclassified violations, with fines set by the State Court Administrator and doubled for a corporation under § 12.05.180. A person ordered to leave a park who refuses can be barred from all county parks for up to 60 days, and running a fireworks storage or sales business as a home occupation is separately prohibited outright under § 19.92.080.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I set off fireworks at a Josephine County park?
Does the fireworks rule apply to small items like sparklers?
What's the penalty for illegal fireworks in a Josephine County park?
Can I run a fireworks stand from my home in unincorporated Josephine County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Josephine County
How Josephine County compares: Cities Where Fireworks Are Banned or Heavily Restricted·Compare Josephine County to another location·View the Oregon fire regulations overview
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