Fireworks calls in Clark County up 18% over 2025, 2024

The number of emergency calls coming to Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency’s fireworks call center and 911 over the Fourth of July holiday was up about 18 percent compared with 2025 and 2024. During a Wednesday presentation to the Clark County Council, Fire Marshal Donna Goddard said the call center received 1,309 calls and 911 received 2,269 calls. “There was about a 20 percent increase in grass fire calls from last year. That would be the one notable thing that I would want to point out,” Goddard told the council. With 2026 being the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding, she said fire districts and first responders were expecting to see an uptick in calls. CRESA received more calls this year about fireworks being used before the legal discharge times, which varies from city to city, Goddard said. Calls reporting fireworks noise complaints were up by 37 percent over last year with 105 calls, but down significantly from 2024’s total of 198 calls. Vancouver, which does not allow fireworks use, still leads as the city with the most noise complaints. “There’s considerably more calls and you can take that as there’s more of a problem and the fact that people know it’s illegal,” said Councilor Glen Yung, who lives inside Vancouver city limits. “But it’s hard to look at this data and come to any real conclusions.” Battle Ground, La Center and Woodland allow fireworks on July 3 and July 4, while they’re only allowed on July 4 in Amboy, Camas, Ridgefield, Washougal and unincorporated parts of the county. Yacolt, by far, is the most lenient. The town allows fireworks from June 29 through July 5. The fireworks call center took 211 calls for grass, bark dust, dumpster and other fires, and another 44 calls for vehicle or structure fires. Goddard said it’s impossible to know how many fires reported resulted from fireworks but said it’s likely that many were. The county bans outdoor burning each year, typically from July through September, to reduce the number of fires during the drier, warmer summer months. Goddard said the rainy weather the region saw the week prior to the holiday may have helped keep grass and wildfire numbers down. Goddard said the fire marshal’s office and fire districts have worked together on public outreach and education for fireworks safety, and it seems to be working. “We do a lot of work, a lot of education on how to dispose of your fireworks properly so that we’re not causing fires in the middle of the night when you dispose of them in your garbage can. We’ve seen none of those fires, which we normally see at least a few instances each year,” she said. The 2026 holiday weekend was also the first since the city of Camas banned mortar shell fireworks, which bans the sale, purchase and discharge of aerial fireworks with reloadable tubes commonly referred to as “mortars” but does not include a ban on other aerial fireworks such as “cakes” or Roman candles. Council Chair Sue Marshall said she would like the council to look at adopting fireworks rules similar to those in Camas. “I hear a lot of complaints every year — and it’s the fire risk — but it’s also very much the noise that goes on throughout the night,” Marshall said. Councilor Matt Little said the council discussed this issue previously and decided not to take action, adding he didn’t see any point in rehashing it again. With two councilors in favor of considering a rule change and two opposed — Councilor Wil Fuentes was absent — the matter will not move forward.

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