Monterey, CA Fire Regulations: Fireworks (2026)

Section 13-4 defines "fireworks" by reference to the state definition in Health and Safety Code Section 12511, then flatly prohibits the sale, offering for sale, display, possession or discharge of fireworks by any person or entity, with no local carve-out for retail "Safe and Sane" fireworks of the kind many other California cities allow around the Fourth of July. 3, restates the same prohibition in the adopted fire code itself, so the ban runs through both the general ordinance and the fire code. Enforcement sits inside Section 13-4 rather than the general fire code penalty: any fireworks found within Monterey are confiscated and turned over to the Monterey Fire Department, and a violation is itself a misdemeanor; after a conviction, a guilty or no-contest plea, or forfeiture of bail, the Department disposes of the confiscated fireworks in a safe manner.

The sole exception is a duly issued permit for a fireworks display by a licensed pyrotechnic operator, which the Fire Chief must approve before the display can occur. would otherwise let a city opt in to allow "Safe and Sane" fireworks; Monterey has deliberately opted out entirely, making this a genuinely local, stricter-than-state answer rather than boilerplate.