Coeur d’Alene eases fireworks enforcement ahead of July Fourth

Coeur d’Alene City Council voted June 16 to amend city code so police can hold property owners or occupants responsible when illegal airborne fireworks are launched from their property. The change targets late-night bursts that rattle neighborhoods, trigger complaints and raise fire worries, especially when officers arrive after the person who lit them is already gone.

Instead of needing to catch the person physically lighting the firework, officers can now move against owners or tenants who knowingly allow illegal fireworks to be used on-site. Police Capt. Dave Hagar said that has been a recurring problem because officers can drive through neighborhoods, hear fireworks going off and still be unable to make a case unless they see who set them off.

The code already prohibited fireworks other than nonaerial common fireworks, except under a special fireworks permit for a safely supervised public display, and it also bans sky lanterns. Coeur d’Alene defines aerial fireworks as any firework that leaves the ground more than 10 feet, and those devices are illegal within city limits. Residents can still buy consumer fireworks during Idaho’s summer sales window, which runs from midnight June 23 through midnight July 5, but they may still be barred from using certain fireworks inside Coeur d’Alene.

Illegal fireworks typically start about two weeks before July Fourth and continue for weeks afterward, so the department has added overtime shifts and special patrols. Hagar said the city faces greater fire danger this year because of heightened fire threats.

The council adopted the action as Council Bill 26-1011, and staff were asked to return with possible clarifications at the July 7 meeting.