Shooting off illegal fireworks in Stanton could cost residents up to $10,000 this Fourth of July.
It comes as city officials throughout Orange County have long grappled with how to curb illegal fireworks like mortars, skyrockets, festival balls, firecrackers and Roman candles.
[Read: Orange County Begins Gearing Up For Illegal Fireworks Crackdowns]
In March, Stanton City Council members voted 3-2 to overhaul the city’s firework ordinance, with Mayor David Shawver and Councilmember Victor Barrios voting against the move, arguing that any potential violation should be submitted to the Orange County District Attorney’s office for review.
In 2025, the city adopted “social host” regulations — an ordinance that puts strict liability on property owners when fireworks are ignited, discharged or possessed on their property. It also imposes administrative fines.
In the ordinance’s first year, the city used different methods to find illegal firework use, including implementing a drone program to capture footage of any violations.
However, city code and law enforcement still had trouble correctly identifying who was shooting off illegal fireworks on private properties and during block parties.
“There were lessons learned from last year’s enforcement and this proposed ordinance before the city council is meant to address those items,” City Attorney HongDao Nguyen told council members at the March 24 meeting.
Nguyen said council members should consider overhauling the ordinance language to emphasize the more illegal fireworks someone buys, the more liable they become.
Last year, one resident got hit with the largest fine Stanton issued, resulting in a $300,000 bill for shooting off 300 fireworks in a three-hour time period – a $1,000 violation for each instance.
The change now makes fines gradually increase. Firework violations 10 or less result in a $2,500 fine, $5,000 for 11 to 20 violations and the largest amount fined capped off at $10,000 for 21 violations or more – all in a one-year period.
“The city considered this very thoughtfully and the policy behind these fines for particularly dangerous fireworks but all fireworks violations, it’s not meant to be punitive, it’s meant to be a deterrent so that those individuals who would think or consider violating the city’s code would think twice about it,” Nguyen said.
The overhauled firework ordinance is slated for final approval on April 14 and will go into effect 30 days after its adoption.
A Public Outreach Campaign?
Stanton Mayor Pro Tem Gary Taylor raised concerns about notifying out-of-town property owners about changes to the ordinance, claiming that many property owners didn’t get proper notification when it was first enacted.
“Some of them said this last time that they didn’t even know about it. The owners of the property didn’t get any notification, and they don’t live in the city,” Taylor said.
He proposed notifying residents and property owners through mail in order to make a stronger case for the city if a violation is brought to court. This idea was supported by Councilmembers Barrios, Donald Torres and John Warren who expressed the need to cover all of Stanton’s bases.
However, Mayor Shawver disagreed, arguing that there is no need to notify residents or property owners through the mail.
“Do you think that the district attorney would not prosecute a person that broke our ordinances with an illegal firework that maimed or killed a human being?” Shawver said. “Do you think that because we didn’t notice him that he wouldn’t prosecute that individual or at least take him to trial? I find that unfathomable.”
Last year, residents were notified about the ordinance through flyers and the city’s annual magazine, according to Nguyen. They were also notified through the city’s website and social media page.
According to City Manager Hannah Shin-Heydorn, the investment of the entire program is estimated to be $50,000 to $60,000. If the city moves to add that in-town residential and business addresses be notified through postcards sent in the mail, an estimated $12,000 will be added to the cost.
If the city moves to also include the notification of out-of-town property owners, a couple more thousand will be added to the baseline cost, Shin-Heydorn said.
Stanton will notify residents about the changes the same way they did last year while also using the city’s business licence database to find and notify landlords.
OC Cities Grapple With Fireworks
Last April, the City of Anaheim moved to do the same thing Stanton did, by making property owners liable for the use, distribution and possession of illegal fireworks. In the past, officials and law enforcement needed to find the specific individual that violated the ordinance.
According to a staff report, the code made it hard to hold others accountable involved and actively discourage the use of illegal fireworks.
“In our neighborhoods with apartments lining the street, they just do it (light fireworks) in the middle of the street. We don’t know who is hosting them,” said Councilwoman Norma Campos Kurtz at the April 22, 2025 council meeting. “But, having said that, it’s one step closer to cleaning up the problem.”
Anaheim fines property owners that violate the ordinance gradually, fining $1,000 for the first offense, $2,000 for the second and $3,000 for the third offense. The only exception to the rule is if the host calls law enforcement to assist in removing the individual violator off the property.
The city also has a lower fine set in place for the misuse of legal fireworks, which are commonly ground fountains that don’t send projectiles high up into the air, along with sparklers and smoke balls.
Legal fireworks – sold at approved temporary locations throughout the city – are allowed to be discharged only on July 4 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., which is also the same in the city of Fullerton.
Fullerton established its fireworks in 2012. In 2016, city council adopted a resolution that establishes specific rules for when and where the fireworks are used and sold. Residents are allowed to buy fireworks that have the state fire marshall’s seal on them and are allowed to set them off in specific zones.
Last year, Fullerton raised administrative fines while also making property owners liable for the use of illegal fireworks. Parents could also be fined if their children misuse fireworks.
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