With the Fourth of July quickly approaching, the city of North Bend is reminding residents of a newly imposed personal fireworks ban.

The ban, which aligns the city with Snoqualmie and other towns across King County, makes the sale, possession and discharge of aerial fireworks within city limits illegal, according to North Bend Mayor Mary Miller’s recent Business Bulletin.

Small ground fireworks, hand-held sparklers and smoke devices are permitted for personal use.

While the city passed Ordinance 1790 in 2022, amending its fireworks code, it went into effect a year later, in December 2023 — a delay required by the state of Washington. This summer marks the first summer the ban has been imposed.

During a Dec. 6, 2022, North Bend City Council meeting, members “[recognized] their use as a valued tradition for many and [acknowledged] the danger fireworks pose to people, animals, homes, businesses and surrounding forests,” according to the bulletin. The ordinance passed with a 4-3 vote.

“This is a challenging topic, and we did not make this decision lightly. This year, our Public Health and Safety Committee worked through the ordinance with council, addressing concerns from many angles, listening to residents, Eastside Fire and Rescue, health professionals and neighboring cities,” said North Bend’s previous mayor, Rob McFarland, during the city council meeting. “This feedback helped shape the final amendment to our fireworks code.”

Miller wrote that the change would provide consistency for the Snoqualmie-North Bend Police and was passed to decrease overall fire risk and danger to people and animals.

According to the city’s municipal code, those violating the ordinance will be charged with a misdemeanor and fined $5,000.

While personal fireworks are now banned, public and professionally licensed shows will be held around the Valley on the night of the Fourth of July, including Red, White and Boom event and the Carnation 4th of July Celebration.