Hawai'i is restrictive: consumer fireworks (firecrackers) are legal only with a $25 County Fire Department permit and only during narrow New Year's, Chinese New Year, and July 4 windows. Aerial fireworks and sky lanterns are banned for the public.
Under HRS 132D-4, consumer fireworks may be set off only from 9 p.m. New Year's Eve to 1 a.m. New Year's Day, 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Chinese New Year, and 1 p.m.-9 p.m. on the Fourth of July. Each $25 firecracker permit from the Hawai'i Fire Department allows purchase of up to 5,000 individual firecrackers and is issued only to adults 18+. Aerial luminary devices (sky lanterns), bottle rockets, Roman candles, cakes, mortars, and shells are unlawful for consumer use. Fireworks may not be discharged within 1,000 feet of a hospital, care home, zoo, animal shelter, or church during services, or on any public street, sidewalk, or park.
Setting off fireworks without a permit, outside the legal windows, or using banned aerial devices is a misdemeanor; illegal aerials and sky lanterns carry the steepest penalties. Contact Fire Prevention: Hilo 808-932-2911, Kona 808-323-4760.
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