California only allows fireworks labeled “safe and sane,” meaning they are ground-based, non-explosive and are not intended to be launched into the air. Prohibited items include aerial shells, bottle rockets, firecrackers, Roman candles, sky rockets, wire core sparklers and similar devices.
Major metropolitan areas — including Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose and all of San Diego County — ban all consumer fireworks outright, leaving permitted sales largely concentrated in smaller suburbs and rural communities.