At the July 22, 2025 regular session of the Board of Island County Commissioners, residents urged the board to prohibit consumer fireworks during Type/Level 1 burn bans and to ban the sale of mortars, citing multiple recent brush fires and wildlife disturbance on Whidbey Island.

The appeals came during the public comment period. Jackie Lassiter, speaking for Citizens for Safe and Humane Fireworks of Island County, said local media and emergency logs show multiple fires this season and asked the board to “add consumer fireworks to the list of prohibited fire uses during a level 1 burn ban.” Lassiter cited a South Whidbey Record article and county emergency-call logs that she said show eight different brush fires on South Whidbey this season and 12 fireworks-related vegetation fires on July 4.

Resident Carlos Anderson described heavy fireworks on July 4 near the Deer Lagoon Preserve and said the activity produced unusual bird behavior. “It was a war zone from about 9 to 11,” Anderson said, and he told commissioners he saw a sharp drop in pelican numbers at the preserve the day after the holiday. Trish Barnett, another resident activist, described a postcard campaign and local outreach that she said reduced fireworks use in parts of Mutiny Bay.

One Island County commissioner acknowledged the public-safety concerns and told colleagues they will introduce a resolution to add fireworks to the list of prohibited items during a Type 1 burn ban and to prohibit the sale of mortars. The commissioner did not set a date for the resolution. Another commissioner spoke at length about balancing public-safety measures with longstanding local traditions and said they would not support an outright ban.

Why this matters: callers tied fireworks to increased wildfire risk, stressed limits on local firefighting resources, and raised wildlife and quality-of-life impacts. Commissioners did not vote on a countywide ban during the meeting; the only next step announced was the forthcoming resolution from one commissioner.

Details from public comments and commissioners’ remarks: Lassiter referenced a recent multi-agency response to a 15-acre wildfire near Freeland and said she was drawing on local articles and county logs. Anderson said wildlife at Deer Lagoon — which he described as a state-recognized important bird area — were “confused and extremely stressed” after fireworks; he reported about 300 American white pelicans present on July 3 and roughly 70 on July 5. Barnett described local volunteer outreach that she said reduced fireworks in some neighborhoods and cited countywide emergency-call increases over decades (she said roughly 300 calls per year in 1986 and more than 3,100 in 2025, and expressed uncertainty about some historical figures).

Discussion versus action: the meeting recorded public comment and commissioners’ responses but produced no formal changes to county code or immediate policy actions. The only formal next step announced was the intention by one commissioner to file a resolution; no vote on that resolution occurred at the July 22 meeting.

What comes next: the resolution to prohibit fireworks during a Type 1 burn ban and to ban mortar sales was announced but had not been introduced as of the meeting. The board did not set a timeline or public hearing for that measure during this session.