In the days leading up to the Fourth of July, authorities in Lewis County and throughout the Northwest urged people to refrain from lighting personal fireworks, citing extremely dry conditions.
“Due to the dry conditions, I believe people were using a lot of restraint and a lot of caution,” said Chief Gregg Peterson, of Lewis County Fire District 5 in Napavine. “We didn’t have the number of fires that I thought we would see.”
Between Friday and Sunday, about 13 brush fires were reported in the county.
Assistant Chief Rick Mack of the Riverside Fire Authority said fewer people used personal fireworks over the long weekend than in years past.
“I don’t know if that message got out or people just looked out in their environment and saw that this year is an anomaly and people self-disciplined,” he said. “Either is possible.”
Riverside Fire Authority crews responded to 18 incidents in the 24 hours surrounding the Fourth of July, eight of which were related to fireworks, according to a news release from the authority. The other 10 incidents were emergency medical responses.
Many of the fireworks-related fires were small brush fires that were extinguished before crews arrived, according to the RFA.
“It was my observation that folks were taking extra care this year to be sure that they had water available to them during fireworks use,” said RFA Captain Scott Weinert in a release.
Fireworks complaints resulted in more than 50 911 calls countywide between Friday and Sunday.
The Centralia Police department saw a large increase in fireworks complaints from last year, said Sgt. Patrick Fitzgerald.
“Last year, in 2014, between the 26th of June and the 6th of July, we had 18 calls regarding fireworks complaints,” he said.
This year, the department received 35 fireworks complaints in the same time frame. Seven of those came on July 4.
“Interestingly enough, last year we didn’t have one on the Fourth of July,” Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald said he thinks residents took fire warnings to heart this year.
While Fourth of July celebrations are over, the fire danger is still high, Mack said.
“Remain diligent,” he said. “Fuel moistures are at levels that we typically see in late August and there’s no change that I see on the horizon for increasing fuel moisture.”
