Fireworks...do as I say, not as I do.

It’s confession time, I like fireworks because fireworks are fun! When I was a kid growing up my uncle kept a stash of fireworks in the cellar for special occasions. I remember him lighting them off from my grandparents’ front porch for birthdays and other celebrations. As a kid I thought it was very exciting.

I mentioned this recently to a family member, and what didn’t occur to me was my grandfather put a sprinkler on the lawn the entire day before the night’s festivities. It was his way of trying to make sure we did not burn the place down and we thought the sprinklers were just for us kids on a hot day. While good intentioned, not the best mitigation strategy for anything other than the lawn.

Mostly, we got lucky and yes, the sprinkler helped, but eventually we realized this was not the best idea. Fireworks can be unpredictable and any outcome other than dazzling the night sky is a bad night. Check out these statistics on injuries caused by lighting fireworks. Yikes!

The summer holidays are right around the corner here in the Wenatchee Valley and while fireworks are allowed in many areas of our state, they are not allowed in the Wenatchee or East Wenatchee City limits or in Chelan County or Douglas County with some exceptions around New Years Eve.

Please think twice before lighting fireworks to celebrate any summer holidays. This is our hot and dry season here so in addition to serious injury, there is also a real threat of wildfire. Keep our community safe this summer season and leave the fireworks to the professionals.

Wildfire is our greatest natural threat in the Wenatchee valley. The hills are already turning brown, and we’ve had more than a few brushes fires this spring. It takes all of us working together to be better adapted to living in a fire landscape. We appreciate the hard work many homeowners have put into mitigating wildfire risk. Some things you can do to help include mowing your field grasses to less than six inches, moving your woodpile 30 feet from your home, and cleaning up fine dry material such as leaves and pine needles. Wenatchee Valley Fire Department and Stemilt Organics have partnered to supply free leaf bags and free disposal for your wildfire cleanup project! Check out our wildfire resources web page for more details.

While we have you on the website, check out some of our earlier blog posts. There’s great information about wildfire including a few videos highlighting some simple tasks to keep your home safer this summer.

Hillary Heard, Wildfire Liaison

Wenatchee Valley Fire Department