It was just a normal Fourth of July in Gearhart, Police Chief Jeff Bowman said. “Maybe a little quieter on Gearhart Beach this year.”

In the days before the holiday, for the fire department, the holiday was much quieter than previous years, City Administrator Chad Sweet, a firefighter, said.

But a call to ban fireworks by residents in letters to Mayor Paulina Cockrum and city councilors is winning support.

“We need to ban fireworks and put notices at the entrances of Gearhart,” resident Penny Sabol wrote. “And enforce the bans.”

Todd Liebow and Anita Barbey wrote to request that the city ban all fireworks this summer.

“There’s too much at risk to allow sparks to be flying amid this small community,” they wrote. “We’ve seen too much destruction to the environment and to humans and pets that could easily have been avoided by these unnecessary and damaging devices. We urge you and City Council to act today on this emergency situation as we are nearing one of the seasonal high points of potential disaster.”

Pet owners said their animals are affected by fireworks, City Councilor Dan Jesse said at last week’s City Council meeting. “And it isn’t just that it happens the Fourth of July,” he said. “It starts before the Fourth of July and carries on through late July or early August.”

Fireworks that meet the state’s legal criteria are allowed in Gearhart, according to guidance sent to resident before the holiday. Fireworks purchased from a licensed retailer or stand in Oregon are legal. Illegal fireworks are defined as any firework that explodes, travels more than 12 inches into the air or more than 6 feet along the ground. These may be sold legally in neighboring states.

“The ones that are making all the noise, my sense would be, they’re from Washington,” Mayor Paulina Cockrum said.

The beach is the jurisdiction of the Oregon State Police as a state highway and Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, Cockrum said. This includes the beach in front of Gearhart, which does not allow cars. Explosives, fireworks or other substances that could cause harm are not allowed in state parks or the beach.

With fire season underway, fire in grasses, trees and vegetation is a concern.

In 2018, three boys were hospitalized after fireworks exploded in separate incidents in Gearhart and Seaside.

In 2020, with traffic about three-quarters the previous year, while there were no fireworks-related incidents reported on the Fourth of July, police responded to numerous calls for assistance.

This year, the fire department responded to 25 calls on the Fourth, a fire in a pit on the beach, an atrium fire and a mutual aid call to Seaside, according to acting Fire Chief Josh Como.

“Future prohibitive policies involving fireworks may be enacted because of just a few careless individuals,” Cockrum wrote in a letter to homeowners before the holiday.

A fireworks ban or moratorium is “definitely within our purview,” City Attorney Peter Watts said. “We can regulate them being discharged in the city as well as the sale within the city boundaries.”

The City Council wants to have more discussion related to fireworks, Cockrum said. The biggest concerns are noise, how it affects wildlife and some pets, waste and increased fire danger.

The city isn’t sure whether to ban all fireworks or how much to tighten the ordinance, she said. “Staff will draft and we will review and make adjustments if desired by the council,” the mayor said.