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Yelm mayor proposes reducing permitted fireworks days, cites July 4 fire surge
Summary
Following a series of fireworks-related fires around July 4, Mayor Joe DiPinto proposed limiting days when fireworks may be discharged inside city limits and discussed a city-sponsored fireworks show; the council will take the idea through the public-safety committee and noted that any ordinance would take effect one year under RCW.
Mayor Joe DiPinto told the Yelm City Council on July 22 that a string of fireworks-related fires around July 4 prompted consideration of restricting the days fireworks are allowed inside city limits and exploring a city-sponsored fireworks show.
“I believe that July 4 and New Year’s Eve is probably the only 2 days that are necessary for fireworks,” the mayor said, adding he would work with the public-safety committee and the fire chief on next steps. The mayor said he was reluctant to impose a total ban because an advisory vote on a ban “a few years back” did not pass, and he said any local rule change would follow a public process.
The mayor said the city’s fire chief and a resident who experienced house fire damage asked for stricter rules; the chief supported reducing allowable discharge days. The mayor also said he would explore a single, city-sponsored fireworks display, possibly at the high-school stadium, to provide a controlled alternative to private fireworks.
City staff said they are collecting data about fireworks impacts; the mayor noted the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) requires some ordinances to take effect one year after adoption and said that a change would not affect the coming July 4 but could take effect in 2027 if council acted before July 4, 2025.
Council members asked whether the recent clustered fires were suspicious; staff said natural-resources investigators were looking into that possibility. The mayor said the process would be public and transparent and start with the public-safety committee.
No ordinance or formal restriction was adopted at the July 22 meeting; the action was a direction to explore options and return to council through committee. The transcript records public and staff comments and a request from a resident (identified in the transcript as Nicholas San Lucas) seeking an outright ban, but council members emphasized a public process before any restriction would be adopted.
