Fireworks to Be Sold at 46 Sites Throughout City

Fireworks will be on sale at 46 locations Tuesday through July 4 to raise money for nonprofit organizations.

The fireworks can only be lighted from 4 to 10 p.m. on the Fourth of July.

The city is one of a few countywide to permit the sale and use of so-called safe-and-sane fireworks. Buena Park, Santa Ana and Stanton are among the others.

“To get a permit for a fireworks stand, it has to be a local charitable organization,” Fire Marshall Tom Mcduff said. “The way it turns out is a lot of them are booster clubs for the high schools, soccer teams . . . basketball, tennis.”

The organizations divide profits with a private company that owns the stands. Fireworks will be for sale along Newport and Harbor boulevards and other streets.

Though it is permissible to buy fireworks in Costa Mesa, it is illegal to use them in most public places, particularly parks, streets and public gathering places.

“About the only place you can really do it is in front of your house,” Mcduff said. “I get an awful lot of calls from people from out of town who want to come in and buy fireworks and want to know where they can set them off, but they can’t.”

Safety information is available at the stands.