Thurston County, WA Fire Regulations: Fireworks (2026)
Key Facts
- Legal discharge window
- 9 a.m.-11 p.m., July 3 and July 4
- Holiday sale/use ban
- Dec. 27 through 1 a.m. Jan. 1
- General permit fee
- $10 per permit
- Retail sale permit fee
- $5
- Application lead time
- 10 days before issuance
- Emergency ban authority
- County manager, high fire danger
Summary
Thurston County restricts consumer fireworks to two dates a year: discharge is legal only from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. on July 3 and again from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. on July 4, under County Code Section 6.68.055. The county also bans sale, purchase, possession, and use of consumer fireworks from December 27 through 1 a.m. January 1 annually, a stricter rule than state law allows.
The discharge of consumer fireworks, as defined in RCW 70.77.136, within the county each year is restricted to nine a.m. to eleven p.m. on July 3rd and nine a.m. to eleven p.m. on July 4th. No person shall discharge any consumer fireworks except within the times and dates set forth above. Further, pursuant to RCW 70.77.395, as amended by Second Substitute Senate Bill 6080 in 2002, Thurston County prohibits the sale, purchase, possession, or use of consumer fireworks on December 27, 2002 through 1:00 a.m. on January 1, 2003 and thereafter on the same period each year. The more restrictive provisions of this section shall prevail over RCW 70.77.395.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 77).
Full Breakdown
Anyone wanting to manufacture, import, export, possess, or sell fireworks at wholesale or retail, discharge dangerous fireworks, put on a public fireworks display, or transport fireworks (other than as a public carrier) needs a permit from the county first, under Section 6.68.010. Permit applications go to the Thurston County auditor's office at least ten days before the requested issue date (Section 6.68.030); the auditor forwards each application to the building department for investigation and a recommendation to the board of county commissioners (Section 6.68.040), which has discretion to grant or deny the permit subject to conditions it sets (Section 6.68.050).
Permit fees are ten dollars, except retail-sale fireworks permits, which cost five dollars (Section 6.68.020). Consumer fireworks covered by RCW 70.77.136, the class sold to the public around Independence Day, may only be discharged from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. on July 3 and the same hours on July 4 (Section 6.68.055). The county layers a harsher restriction on top of state fireworks law: sale, purchase, possession, or use of consumer fireworks is banned from December 27 through 1 a.m. on January 1 each year, and Section 6.68.055 expressly states this local restriction prevails over the more permissive window in RCW 70.77.395.
The county manager may also impose an emergency ban on discharging consumer fireworks during periods of extreme fire danger after consulting the fire marshal, effective one day before the legal retail sale period opens under Chapter 70.77 RCW (Section 6.68.057). Beyond these rules, anyone handling fireworks in Thurston County must still meet every requirement of Chapter 70.77 RCW and its implementing rules (Section 6.68.060).
Violations & Fines
Discharging, selling, or possessing consumer fireworks outside the July 3-4 window, or during the December 27-January 1 shutout period, violates Section 6.68.055. Operating without the underlying county permit required by Section 6.68.010, for manufacture, wholesale or retail sale, public display, or transport, is a separate violation of that section. The county manager's emergency discharge ban under Section 6.68.057, issued during extreme fire danger, carries the same enforcement weight as the standing calendar restriction once in effect.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I set off consumer fireworks on July 4th in Thurston County?
Is there a New Year's fireworks ban in Thurston County?
Do I need a permit to sell fireworks in Thurston County?
Can the county ban fireworks discharge during fire danger?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Thurston County
Compare Thurston County to another location·View the Washington fire regulations overview
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