Yakima, WA Fire Regulations: Fireworks (2026)

Yakima Municipal Code Chapter 10.15 (Fireworks) implements a citywide fireworks ban. YMC 10.15.015 states that it is unlawful for any person to store, offer for sale, expose for sale, use, possess, fire or discharge any fireworks within the City of Yakima. The Yakima fireworks ban was passed by special election in 1992 - more than two years before the December 31, 1994 cutoff under RCW 70.77.485 - so it operates as a complete prohibition rather than being limited to the discharge-only ban allowed for cities that acted later. The Washington State Fireworks Law (Chapter 70.77 RCW) and the State Fire Marshal's implementing rules (Chapter 212-17 WAC) supply the statewide framework for consumer-fireworks classification, licensing, and sales periods, but Yakima's local ordinance fully supersedes those allowances inside city limits. Yakima Fire Department reports that during a recent July 4 holiday it responded to 15 fireworks-related fires within city limits. Public (professional) fireworks displays remain available through a separate permit process: YMC 10.15 (and RCW 70.77.260) require a license issued by the State Fire Marshal and a local permit from the Yakima Fire Department for any public display, with the display fired by a licensed pyrotechnician. The fireworks ban applies year-round, including the July 4 and December 31 statewide consumer-fireworks windows established at WAC 212-17-235. Yakima County's unincorporated areas operate under YCC Chapter 8.46 and have their own (more permissive) framework, so possessing legal county fireworks does not authorize their use inside the City of Yakima.