Calaveras County, CA Fire Regulations: Fireworks (2026)

California's State Fireworks Law (Health & Safety Code section 12500 et seq.) divides fireworks into 'safe and sane' (legal statewide where local rules allow) and 'dangerous' fireworks (illegal without a license or permit). State law lets counties impose stricter local rules. In unincorporated Calaveras County, the Board of Supervisors has used urgency ordinances to ban all recreational fireworks. In a unanimous vote, supervisors suspended 'the sale and use of fireworks in the county limits,' explicitly including fireworks 'considered safe and sane,' citing dry conditions, an active fire season, and memories of the 2015 Butte Fire. The ban took effect immediately and applied to possession, sale, and use unless part of a public fireworks display conducted with the written authorization of the relevant fire district chief. These urgency measures have been seasonal in nature (typically through November 30) and have been re-adopted; residents should confirm the current order with the County each year. Calaveras County's only incorporated city, Angels Camp, sets its own fireworks rules and is not covered by the County order. Because the unincorporated county lies in high fire-hazard Sierra foothill and mountain terrain, possessing or igniting any firework can carry serious liability for wildfire damage in addition to the violation itself.