‘Fireworks’ listed on the agenda of the “Council Time” for the Clark County Council at 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 21, and industry leaders plan to attend to give their opinions

Paul Valencia
Clark County Today 

The parking lots fill.

The lines go quickly, but there are definitely lines.

The popularity of the product never seems to cease.

It is almost fireworks season in Clark County. Stands will be built toward the end of June, and the rush will be on to purchase fireworks for the Fourth of July.

“We wouldn’t be selling there if there wasn’t a market there,” said David Martin of Western Fireworks, which runs Bomber and Grand Slam brands in Clark County. “If people didn’t want to buy fireworks, we wouldn’t be there.”

There are some, though, who do not want fireworks to be an option.

This week, the Clark County Council is expected to discuss the possibility of banning fireworks in unincorporated Clark County. If enacted this year, the ban would take effect in 2026 — the 250th birthday of the United States of America.

Many of those in the local fireworks industry, and those who love being able to purchase and use fireworks in Clark County, are expected to attend Wednesday’s council meeting at 1 p.m., in hopes of being heard.

“We just learned that (some) Clark County (councilors), out of the blue, that they want to ban fireworks and put us all out of business,” said Gene Marlow, owner of Mean Gene Fireworks. “We are all scrambling.”

The fireworks industry has at least one member of the council that is pro fireworks. Michelle Belkot told Clark County Today on Monday that if the council bans fireworks, there will be some unintended consequences.

“It will create a very unsafe environment by having people look to … buying illegal, mortar-like, M-80 type fireworks that are not controlled by the state of Washington and fire marshall rules and regulations,” she said.

She also will argue that with the county facing a budget deficit, the county should not consider losing sales tax revenue.

Then there are the dozens of nonprofit organizations that run the fireworks stands.

“The high school boosters and churches who rely on nonprofit fundraising will lose all of that money,” Belkot said.

Marlow and Martin point out that most of their fireworks stands are run by nonprofit organizations. 

“It is typically their biggest fundraiser of the year,” Marlow said. 

“Most of them, it’s their only fundraiser,” Martin said. “They make enough during the Fourth of July season that they don’t have to sell candy bars the rest of the year.”

Mean Gene Fireworks annually donates $5,000 each to the Washougal and Camas alcohol-free high school graduation night parties.

“We’re happy to give back. Can’t do that if we don’t have a business,” Marlow said.

Martin said his business would survive, but locations would change. Currently, independent cities in Clark County have their own laws regarding fireworks. Battle Ground, for example, has a three-day window to sell fireworks, Martin said.

Martin, who has been in the fireworks industry for 26 years, said he recalled when the city of Vancouver banned fireworks last decade.

“Everybody came over to Clark County,” he said, just outside the city limits. “It crammed more people into a tighter area.”

A ban in Clark County would force fireworks businesses into the smaller cities that still allow fireworks or farther north into Cowlitz County, for example, Martin said.

“People who want fireworks are going to go get them,” he said.

“Nobody makes them buy these things,” Marlow said. “They buy them because they want to.”

If bans on fireworks continue to expand, there will be more people seeking out unregulated fireworks, Belkot said.

“We’ll go from safe and sane to illegal, highly unsafe fireworks that are not controlled by the state of Washington,” she said.

Keeping fireworks legal in Clark County has benefits, though, beyond just helping nonprofits make money and for the fireworks industry to make a profit. Martin and Marlow say that the people working at their stands also educate the public. There are maps showing where the use of fireworks is legal and illegal in the area.

Marlow acknowledged that there are people who do not follow the rules. Some light fireworks in restricted areas, or days before the Fourth of July. He argues, however, that 90-percent of the fireworks go off during the three-hour period from when it gets dark on the Fourth of July until midnight. Most of the people obey the laws.

Martin said that news media accounts typically only report on negative incidents regarding fireworks. Most people enjoy their fireworks safely, he said.

Marlow and Martin plan to sign up to speak at the “Council Time” meeting on Wednesday.

Martin’s message: “I’ve enjoyed it my whole life. We’ve always done fireworks. Never had an incident. It can be done safely as long as you know what you’re doing,” he said.

He said he will not be negative toward any individual member of the board who might be planning to vote to ban fireworks. But he does think it is a bigger issue for five people to decide.

“Put it to a vote. Let the people vote,” Martin said.

By the looks of the crowds surrounding fireworks stands every year, the people are voting with their wallets.