Honolulu’s effort to curb illegal fireworks produced more citations on Oʻahu in the second half of 2025 after Hawaii expanded enforcement tools through new laws, newly released state data show.
From July 4, 2025 through Jan. 1, 2026, the state issued 47 citations for fireworks-related violations on Oʻahu. Thirty-nine? No—of those 47 citations, 29 were issued on New Year’s Eve, according to the data described in the report.
Mike Lambert, director of the Hawaii Department of Law Enforcement, said the department had made progress stemming the flow of illegal imports to the island but that more focus was needed on the consumer side, including “issuing more citations in the coming year.” Lambert’s comments were reported in connection with officials’ reviews of the first major holiday enforcement period under the updated legal approach.
Brian Lynch, assistant chief with the Honolulu Police Department’s Regional Patrol Bureau, told the Honolulu Police Commission that combining civil fines and additional surveillance “is already making a positive difference,” while also acknowledging remaining challenges for the department’s patrol operations.
The report said the state Department of Law Enforcement began testing 10 drones last year as surveillance tools on Oʻahu and that they may be rolled out to neighbor islands later. Lynch said the drones proved less helpful than hoped during New Year’s Eve, citing difficulties coordinating officers on the ground to respond to what the drones were observing from the air. He said that “Halfway through the night we weren’t getting any results so we put the drones away, we all piled in cars, and we went out.”
Lynch also said that fireworks enforcement progress should not be measured by citation totals alone. He said there was less fireworks activity leading up to midnight and “far fewer injuries” than in past years, and he described a specific comparison: six people were transported to Honolulu hospitals with serious injuries from fireworks over New Year’s Eve, compared with 91 the previous year. The report said there were no reported deaths.
The new citations come as officials and prosecutors assess whether the updated legal structure is changing case outcomes. The report pointed to the legislation signed by Gov. Josh Green before the July 4 holiday, after a New Year’s Eve 2024 explosion of illegal fireworks killed six people and injured two dozen more. The report said the new laws elevated some serious firework offenses to felonies and gave police the ability to issue an immediate $300 fine for low-level offenses—mainly use of fireworks without a permit.
The report also described Act 243 and Act 244, both signed into law last year. It said Act 243 added fireworks to an existing court process used for traffic and emergency period infractions, allowing police to issue on-the-spot fines. It said Act 244 added authority for unmanned drones that can fly and record over private property.
Court records included in the report provided a snapshot of fireworks enforcement cases after citations were issued between July and January. As of Jan. 21, the state prevailed in a dozen cases, eight cases remained active, eight had been dismissed by the court, one case was dropped, and another remained pending. The report said four of the active cases are scheduled to go before the courts later this month.
The report also cited a Civil Beat investigation in 2023 finding that 94% of citations issued on Oʻahu between 2018 and 2022 ended in dismissal or a dropped prosecution. It added that, out of 48 charges brought on Oʻahu in 2023 and 2024, 45 were unsuccessful and three people paid fines after pleading no contest. Against that backdrop, the report said the 12 confirmed Oʻahu prosecutions in 2025 so far represent at least a seven-year peak for the state.
The report said most of the citations resulted in small fines, including a $300 ticket plus $20 in fees for igniting fireworks without a permit, for a total of $4,325 in that period. It also said the average fine paid in previous years was $50.
Lambert said more enforcement activity could follow the holiday. The report said Lambert expected additional charges to arise from five felony arrests made by the Department of Law Enforcement on New Year’s Eve, and he reported that over the course of the year the department seized approximately 80 tons of illegally shipped fireworks, executed 23 search warrants, and initiated eight nuisance abatement processes against property owners.