This weekend is the first July 4 holiday under the city’s new fireworks ordinance, which prohibits fireworks that leave the ground.

Voters approved the new ordinance on the November municipal ballot with 8,766 in favor of the more restrictive version and 7,288 opposed.

City officials are reminding residents of the new rules and safety precautions.

Municipal election 2025: Preliminary results

Fireworks are only allowed to be sold and discharged within the city limits from 8 a.m. to midnight July 2-4.

They can be sold the county from June 24-July 5, under state law.

July 4 events include:

• parade downtown at 11 a.m., beginning on 1st Avenue South, continuing to 8th Street, then on to Central Avenue to the Civic Center
• Black Eagle parade organized by the Black Eagle Volunteer Fire Department at 11 a.m., starting at the Black Eagle Country Club
• Hootennany, beginning right after the downtown parade at Central Avenue and 5th Street
• Mitchell and Water Tower pools will be open with Great Falls Park and Recreation
• Voyagers game followed by fireworks (also a longstanding professional and permitted show)

Great Falls Fire Rescue “wants to remind everyone to practice fireworks safety and have a bucket of water handy to ensure spent fireworks are cool and out. For more fireworks safety tips, please see the information from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.”

Prohibited fireworks are any that leave the ground, including rockets, shells, Roman candles, cakes, missiles, etc. and anything that explodes including firecrackers, salutes, cowabungas, noisemakers, etc.,” according to the Great Falls Police Department.

Among the rules that haven’t changed:

• fireworks may not be discharged on public property, including streets, parking garages, parks, sidewalks, alleys, etc.
• residents are responsible for cleaning up debris
• children under 10 years old may not have or use any fireworks without direct supervision of a parent, guardian or custodian no greater than 10 feet away

Additional city police and fire officers will be patrolling during the days and times that fireworks are legal within the city limits.

Jeremy Jones, deputy city manager and former fire chief, said the GFFR/GFPD speciality patrols will handle only fireworks calls so other on-duty public safety officers can handle other calls.

They will enforce the new ordinance, but officers will have discretion on whether to issue citations or educate the people involved.

Fireworks are on the city ballot, here’s things to know [2025]

“Common sense and judgment have not been taken away from police officers and firefighters,” he said.

[Sample ballot]

If you’re wondering how the question of fireworks got on the ballot, we’ll revisit our reporting from last summer, which we also included in an October ballot primer.

On July 2, 2025, a house fire that GFFR officials determined was caused by fireworks killed an elderly woman, her dog and cat.

Officials investigated but couldn’t prove who lit the fireworks that started the grass fire that spread to the house so no charges were filed.

Public hearing set for Aug. 5 on sending fireworks to the ballot

Following the incident, Commissioner Rick Tryon posted on social media that he would ask his fellow commissioners if they agreed to direct staff to draft a resolution to update city code to ban fireworks within the city limits.

In a follow-up post, Tryon said he would start the process of changing the code either by commission vote or by sending the question to the ballot for a public vote.

Commissioners voted 4-1 during their Aug. 5 meeting to send fireworks to the ballot.

Commissioner Joe McKenney voted in opposition, repeating his preference for the commission to make the decision.

Write-in lines back on for November city ballot; late registration available

The ordinance would continue to allow the use of novelty and other consumer fireworks as defined by Montana law, such as sparklers, fountains, snakes, and other non-explosive, non-aerial fireworks.

The ballot language asked voters if yes or no to striking out the line in existing code “only those fireworks authorized by state law are permissible” and replacing it with:

A. Fireworks permitted to be sold and discharged within the municipal limits of the City of Great Falls are limited to those allowed by Mont. Code Ann. § 50-37-105 (2025), except that the following fireworks are strictly prohibited: 1) fireworks designed to leave the ground, such as rockets, shells, cakes, missiles, and roman candles; and 2) fireworks designed to explode upon activation, such as salutes and firecrackers. Permitted fireworks typically include sparklers, fountains, ground spinners, snap caps, smoke devices, and novelty items.

B. Except as provided in paragraph A, above, or in city-approved and permitted public displays, fireworks (as defined by Mont. Code Ann. § 50-37-101) are not permitted to be sold and/or discharged within the city limits under this chapter.

The estimated cost to add the question to the November ballot was $88.

The estimated cost of the municipal election was $66,704.67, including the addition of the fireworks question, according to the county elections office.

Commissioners considering fireworks rule change; no action yet taken

History of fireworks regulations in Great Falls

[READ: current city code pertaining to fireworks]

State law pertaining to fireworks from 1985-1992 allowed consumer/common fireworks as defined in federal law, except for aerial fireworks, according to city records.

City code banned fireworks before 1992, but the ban wasn’t enforced, according to the city.

In 1992, a working group was formed to discuss and develop a plan for fireworks regulation in the city.

City officials to discuss changes to fireworks rules on July 15 [2025]

“At the time, it was observed that enforcement was difficult due to the following: 1) fireworks are sold in the county, which are not legal in the city; illegal use of fireworks within city was common; difficulty in identifying violators; many violators are juveniles; difficulty in educating the public and enforcement personnel as to which fireworks are legal/illegal,” according to the city.

Those were the same challenges discussed during the city meetings in July 2025 regarding fireworks regulations.

Fatal fire believed to be caused by fireworks [2025]

The working group developed a “somewhat complicated ordinance identifying legal and illegal fireworks. The ordinance was fairly restrictive, prohibiting exploding and aerial fireworks (which were likely already banned under state law),” according to the city.

Commissioners initially rejected most of the ordinance, striking most of the provisions, but kept a five-day limitation for the use and sale of fireworks in the city.

Later in 1994, commissioners amended the ordinance, incorporating the provisions they’d previously rejected.

GFFR reminding residents of fireworks rules, safety [2025]

In 2007, commissioners revised the 1994 ordinance to allow any fireworks that were permissible under state law, which at the time prohibited sky rockets, Roman candles and bottle rockets, and reduced the permitted time frame to three days in July, established a fine structure, and a permit and fee requirement for fireworks sellers, according to the city.

Those rules largely remained in place.

In 2016, Bob Kelly, former mayor, held a town hall on fireworks.

About 60 people attended, who were split on keeping the rules as is or further restricting fireworks.

Resident asks city to consider banning fireworks within city limits [2018]

No change was made to city restrictions on the dates that fireworks are allowed.

The commission made minor code changes related to fireworks in 2017, raising the age to 10 for those requiring parental supervision to discharge fireworks.

The commission also added a provision, at the suggestion of former Commissioner Bill Bronson, allowing the city manager, after consultation with the fire chief, to issue an emergency declaration banning the use of fireworks during the normal allowable times if weather conditions such as high winds, drought or extreme heat, pose a danger to public safety.

In 2021, the Montana Legislature eliminated its prohibition on aerial fireworks in an effort to be consistent with federal law, though the use of fireworks is prohibited on federal property, including national parks, national forests, military installations, post offices, etc. and in Washington, D.C., where fireworks violation fines start at $2,000.

Since permissible fireworks in city code were tied to state law, that made aerial fireworks legal in the city, beginning in 2021.

Foundation fundraising to continue community fireworks display [2025]

Missoula, Kalispell, Helena, Bozeman and Billings ban fireworks within the city limits.

Fireworks are allowed, with few restrictions, in Cascade County and are governed by state law.

There was some online chatter last summer that fireworks were on the 2021 ballot.

They were not.

Fireworks complaints up this year [2020]

There was no question of fireworks on the city ballot for at least the last 12 years, per this reporter’s reporting and the city clerk’s records, who had no record whatsoever of fireworks being placed on the ballot before 2025.

Great Falls Fire Marshal Mike McIntosh said in July that their investigation into the fatal July 2, 2025 fire had concluded.

Deputy fire marshals went to the fire scene again on July 7, looking for cameras, but were unable to find any that would produce usable video footage, McIntosh told The Electric, so fire investigators had to go with the information provided to them on scene.

July 4 holiday calls down again this year [2018]

Last year, the calls to Great Falls Fire Rescue and Great Falls Police Department from July 1-5 were:

Great Falls Fire Rescue, per Chief Jeremy Jones

Total fire incidents:

• 2025: 10
• 2024: 9
• 2023: 6
• 2022: 4
• 2021: 33
• 2020: 7

• 2025: 14
• 2024: 12
• 2023: 7
• 2022: 1
• 2021: 43

• 2025: 40
• 2024: 19
• 2023: 21
• 2022: 24
• 2021: 57

Great Falls Police Department, per Lt. Matt Fleming

• 2025: 53
• 2024: 36
• 2023: 36

All calls for service: 

• 2025: 500
• 2024: 446
• 2023: 570

In 2021, July 4 was a Sunday and that weekend, GFFR responded to 139 calls and of those, 31 were grass fires, 11 dumpster fires, two structure fires directly related to fireworks and two EMS calls related to fireworks, to include second degree burns from fireworks.

There were Stage 1 fire restrictions in place in Cascade County for the July 4, 2021 holiday.

City Commission discusses annual goals

In 2020, from July 2-5, there were five grass fires and two dumpster fires related to fireworks, according to fire officials.

During the commission’s Jan. 3, 2025 retreat, Mayor Cory Reeves asked if it would be possible to put a fireworks ordinance on the ballot because he got a lot of complaints on New Year’s Eve.

City Manager Greg Doyon said “sure.”

Cascade County implements fire restrictions [2022]

City Commissioner Shannon Wilson said she rode with GFPD on New Year’s Eve and fireworks were going well outside the legal times.

“If you have an ordinance against it, they’re still going to do it,” she said.

Reeves said he thinks they should put it on a ballot since the community is divided on fireworks.

“Why do us five have to make that decision,” Reeves asked.

State launches fire restrictions map; local officials urge caution as fire danger increases [2021]

He asked if the city would have to pay to put that question on the ballot and said he didn’t understand that process.

Doyon asked to let staff explore it and said that if they adopt a fireworks ban, they’d need to have the ability to enforce it.

Reeves asked if they could ban fireworks for individuals and still allow commercial displays, to which staff said yes.

Lisa Kunz, city clerk, pointed out that the county allows fireworks.

Commissioner Joe McKenney said in January 2025 that the only things he wanted on the ballot were things they have to put there.

If it doesn’t have to be on the ballot, “then that’s our job as commissioners to vote on it. I think that’s our job.”