Personal-use fireworks are again illegal on New Year's Eve within Anchorage city limits, as an ordinance allowing their use for a few hours each year has expired.

Following the Anchorage Assembly's approval, city residents were allowed to light fireworks in 2010 and 2011 on private property from 9:30 p.m. New Year's Eve to 1 a.m. New Year's Day. But the ordinance was only a temporary one, and without an extension in 2012, using fireworks without a permit is once more against the law on New Year's Eve, as it is the rest of the year in Anchorage.

Anyone caught using fireworks in Anchorage is subject to a citation and fine.

For a city-sanctioned fireworks experience, Anchorage residents can attend the annual Fire and Ice New Year's Eve Celebration, which starts at 5 p.m. downtown at Town Square. The fireworks display -- sponsored by the National Electrical Contractors Association and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers -- blasts off at 8 p.m.

Fireworks are allowed in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, with some restrictions, between 6 p.m. and 1 a.m. on New Year's Eve. For a complete breakdown of the rules, visit www.matsugov.us.