Fireworks are not legal in Colorado Springs. City code bans the possession, sale, storage, manufacture, and use of virtually every consumer firework inside city limits, including items like sparklers and fountains that Colorado state law permits elsewhere. The only things allowed are paper caps for toy guns. Getting caught can cost you up to $2,500 and up to 189 days in jail.
What the City Bans
Colorado Springs City Code Section 9.7.302 prohibits manufacturing, possessing, storing, selling, or using any fireworks within city limits.1American Legal Publishing Code Library. Colorado Springs Code of Ordinances – 9.7.302 Manufacture, Sale and Discharge Prohibited The rule is broader than state law, and it captures items most people assume are harmless.
Sparklers, fountains, smoke bombs, ground spinners, snakes, wheels, and every aerial device are off-limits inside the city. So are firecrackers, bottle rockets, Roman candles, and anything else with a fuse or a spark. The single exception is paper caps for toy guns and similar novelties containing no more than one-half of one-two-thousandth of a grain of explosive per cap.
What Colorado Allows Outside the City
Outside cities with their own bans, Colorado law permits a narrow category called “permissible fireworks” under C.R.S. 24-33.5-2001.2FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes 24-33.5-2001 – Definitions These are small, ground-based, non-explosive items: cylindrical and cone fountains, wheels, ground spinners, sparklers, illuminating torches, snakes, and small trick noisemakers, all subject to strict composition limits.
Anything beyond that list — firecrackers, bottle rockets, Roman candles, aerial shells, M-80s, cherry bombs — is illegal statewide, not just in Colorado Springs.3Justia. Colorado Code 24-33.5-2002 – Unlawful Use or Sale of Fireworks – Exceptions The city’s ordinance simply adds the permissible category to the prohibited list, so items you can buy legally in unincorporated El Paso County are contraband the moment you cross into Colorado Springs.
Buying in the County, Using in the City
This gap trips people up every summer. Retailers set up in unincorporated parts of the county and sell state-permissible fireworks legally. Buyers assume that legal purchase means legal use at home. It doesn’t, if home is inside Colorado Springs.
There is no grace period, no transportation exception, and no small-quantity carve-out. If you buy fireworks outside city limits, use them where you bought them or in another jurisdiction that allows them. Bringing them home puts you in possession of illegal fireworks under city code.
Fines and Jail Time
Possessing, using, or selling fireworks in Colorado Springs is a misdemeanor. Penalties reach up to $2,500 in fines, up to 189 days in jail, or both. Officers confiscate illegal fireworks on the spot, and enforcement ramps up around Independence Day.
Selling any fireworks to someone under 16 carries its own state-level penalty of up to $750 and up to six months in jail.3Justia. Colorado Code 24-33.5-2002 – Unlawful Use or Sale of Fireworks – Exceptions Even where permissible fireworks are legal, children under 16 can only handle them with adult supervision.
When Things Go Wrong: Additional Charges
A citation for the fireworks themselves is often the smallest problem. If something ignites or someone gets hurt, prosecutors can add serious charges on top.
Criminal mischief applies when someone knowingly damages another person’s property, with severity tied to the dollar amount of the damage.4Justia. Colorado Code 18-4-501 – Criminal Mischief A firework that scorches a neighbor’s fence or burns landscaping fits the statute. Reckless endangerment, a class 2 misdemeanor, covers situations where fireworks create a substantial risk of serious bodily injury, even if no one is actually hurt.5Justia. Colorado Code 18-3-208 – Reckless Endangerment
The most serious risk is arson. Colorado’s fourth-degree arson statute covers anyone who knowingly or recklessly starts a fire or causes an explosion that endangers another person or damages property.6Justia. Colorado Code 18-4-105 – Fourth Degree Arson In dry Colorado summers, a stray spark that becomes a wildfire is not a hypothetical. Civil liability for damages runs alongside the criminal case.
Fire Bans Can Override Everything
County sheriffs, fire departments, and federal land agencies can impose fire restrictions or full bans that shut down activities otherwise legal in unincorporated areas. Restriction status can change quickly during a dry season.
Before using fireworks anywhere in Colorado, check the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control’s fire restriction page or contact the local county sheriff or fire department.7Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control. Fire Restriction Information Inside the city, fireworks are also separately prohibited in any park without a permit, which for consumer fireworks means never.8American Legal Publishing Code Library. Colorado Springs Code of Ordinances – 9.9.403 Fires and Fireworks
Where to Watch Fireworks Legally
The consumer ban does not eliminate fireworks in Colorado Springs. Professional displays run each year, especially around the Fourth of July, operated by licensed pyrotechnicians with city permits and fire safety plans.
Past shows have included Fort Carson’s Freedom Fest, displays at the Ford Amphitheater, and Banning Lewis Ranch, along with post-game shows at Rocky Mountain Vibes and Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC events. Dates and venues shift each year, so check the Colorado Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau or local listings closer to the holiday.
Reporting Illegal Fireworks
To report fireworks in Colorado Springs, call the non-emergency police dispatch line at 719-444-7000.9City of Colorado Springs. How to Report a Crime Use 911 only if someone is injured or a fire has started. Reports must go through dispatch; there is no online form for this.
Call while the fireworks are still active. Officers need to arrive during the activity, so timing is everything. Give a specific street address and, if possible, a description of the people involved. “Somewhere in the neighborhood” gives officers nothing to act on; a house number or cross street is what turns a call into enforcement.