Where fireworks are legal in California, and what kinds you can buy

The window for legally buying fireworks in California opened last weekend and will run through noon on Sunday, July 6. The law covers only certain types of fireworks and only in those communities that specifically allow them.

In the Bay Area, these communities allow sale and use of “safe and sane” fireworks:

• Dublin
• Newark
• Union City
• Pacifica
• San Bruno
• Gilroy
• Dixon
• Rio Vista
• Suisun City
• Cloverdale

Just beyond the Bay Area, fireworks-legal communities include Watsonville, Hollister, San Juan Bautista, unincorporated San Benito County and more than 20 communities in San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties.

Those communities can set their own limits on where and when fireworks can be detonated — Dublin, for instance, allows their use at four specific parks during certain hours on the holiday.

California’s legal fireworks, which must bear the seal of the state fire marshal, are those that do not explode or fly into the air. They include:

• Sparklers (handheld or on the ground)
• Spinners (wheel or ground)
• Smoke devices
• Torches
• Flitting sparklers (aka Morning Glories) not exceeding a quarter-inch in diameter or 10 inches in length

Party poppers and snap caps, the type that shoot out confetti or streamers, are legal year-round.

Buyers of “safe and sane” fireworks must be 16 or older.