Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
It’s very hot and dry. Have you noticed? As a result, fire districts and authorities in Lincoln County and throughout Eastern Washington are asking that residents refrain from lighting fireworks as part of their Independence Day celebrations this weekend.
It’s not the news we wanted to hear (especially for resident pyrotechnics inclined to drop $1,000-plus on patriotic explosions), but this year, it’s the right call.
Fireworks, dry climates and poor decisions don’t mix. I’ve seen it firsthand.
The year was 2017. I was at a friend’s house in the Columbia River Gorge east of Vancouver watching college football when a breaking news alert interrupted the screen: A fire had begun across the river near Eagle Creek.
The news footage indicated a tree or two had begun to ignite, but the flames were spreading quickly. We walked to the top of the hill, and could see the incident in real time, but knew we would get a better view at a nearby location.
That night, we drove to Bonneville Dam and saw the area myself, my family and many of my friends grow up hiking, exploring and traveling be rapidly engulfed in night-lighting flames and suffocating smoke. The fire, which had started with a couple trees igniting, would grow to over 50,000 acres and have many consequences:
283 structures and 15 businesses in nearby Cascade Locks were threatened. 600,000 fish were released from salmon hatcheries earlier than planned. 153 hikers were trapped overnight due to the fire. Schools region-wide closed for two days due to poor air quality and smoke overload. The Columbia River closed to marine traffic for a 20-mile stretch. 400 residences were evacuated, and millions of dollars of damage were caused.
And how did the fire start?
One poor decision by a 15-year-old from my hometown, Vancouver, to toss a firework into the woods.
Now, I don’t expect any responsible Lincoln County citizen to decide to celebrate the freedoms of America by tossing a firework at a dry tree. However, this year, simply lighting the firework…no matter the age or experience with pyrotechnics…may be an irresponsible situation that could have horrible consequences.
County residents know this just as well, given the disastrous results of the Whitney Road Fire last Labor Day that took out over a tenth of the county’s total acreage.
New Year’s Eve is only six months away, and conditions won’t be this anti-firework. There are many other ways to celebrate the Fourth of July with friends and family: contained barbeques, pool parties and lawn games are all safe, fun activities void of open flames and explosions.
If you’re really missing fireworks, you could even bring a projector outside and livestream firework shows from around the country, including Washington D.C. Everything seems to be done that way now, anyway.
Everyone is happy to be celebrating a holiday safely this year, especially one that is so popular and in the middle of the summer. But this year, let’s skip the polytechnics and celebrate with loved ones safely, instead of risking the deep consequences that could be caused by firework-induced wildfires.
– Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He can be reached at dteditor@centurytel.net.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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