It’s illegal in the city of Houston for non-permitted entities to release fireworks on New Year’s Eve, but that doesn’t stop people from doing it.
“We simply want to give people forewarning,” Mayor Sylvester Turner suggested in his annual press conference in 2018. “Do not engage in celebratory gunfire in the city of Houston.” He says Houston police got 1,500 calls last New Year’s Eve.
And it could be costly. “The fine ranges from $500 to $2,000 per incident,” warns Houston Fire Chief Samuel Pena. “We want to discourage people from discharging fireworks within the city limits. Leave it to the professionals. Every year we respond to a number of injuries.”
On Christmas Day in southwest Houston a two-year-old child was burned by fireworks.
If you’d like to see some of the professional fireworks in the area, City Center, 800 Town & Country, will have fireworks in their celebration that begins at 5pm, with music and festivities kicking in to high gear at 9:30.
And of course the Kemah Boardwalk is always spectacular.