OMAHA, Nebraska – On New Year’s Eve, the City of Omaha will hold a New Year’s Eve fireworks display downtown.
Families will gather. They’ll crane their necks upwards to see the sky, fireworks, and the limitless possibilities that 2025 may bring.
However, whether at the city’s fireworks display or in one’s own backyard, fireworks pose a potential safety risk. According to the National Safety Council—Nebraska Chapter, leaving fireworks to professionals is the safest policy.
There are some rules for those who want to celebrate the New Year at home with fireworks, and they vary depending on where they live in the metro.
- Omaha: 5 p.m. New Years Eve to 1 a.m. New Year’s Day
- Papillion is open Sunday through New Year’s Eve from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., with extended hours until midnight.
- La Vista: Prohibited
- Bellevue: 9 p.m. New Year’s Eve until 12:30 am New Year’s Day
- Gretna: Sunday through New Year’s Eve, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; extended hours on New Year’s Eve until midnight.
Joe Chase, manager of Bellino Fireworks, stated that some people, particularly those with young children, enjoy setting off fireworks earlier for the holiday.
“We also have people who like to shoot them off a few days in advance, in the evening. It’s kind of nice because it gets dark around 5 p.m. this time of year. “They don’t want to stay up until midnight,” Chase explained. “I like the joy that people get from shooting them off. “I love seeing their smiles.”
Omaha police are also warning against celebratory gunfire.
“Celebratory gunfire is still a problem in many cities, especially during the holiday season, and it can often have tragic consequences when innocent people are hit by bullets and injured or killed.
“Any bullet fired from a gun, even into the sky, must land somewhere, and the risks of injury or death are significant,” the OPD said in a statement.