The holidays promise laughter, gathering and long-awaited reunions. But inside emergency rooms and for first responders, it's the start of one of their busiest seasons.
Every year, emergency departments prepare for a predictable holiday spike. From Thanksgiving through New Year’s, first responders in Wenatchee say they see a similar pattern: more impaired and impatient drivers on winter roads, preventable house fires tied to cooking and space heaters, and a stream of falls, crashes and cold-weather injuries landing in the emergency room.
On the roads: DUIs, speed and winter passes
With Thanksgiving only a few days away, Wenatchee Police Chief Edgar Reinfeld says traffic is most backed up the days leading up to the holiday and days after, although it's not much different than most days.
He said the "real" problem is motorists driving under the influence.
"It's been consistent over many years," Reinfeld said. "So much so that when our traffic unit is in effect, they actually work Thanksgiving, Friday, which is normally a holiday for our officers, directly to address that problem."
Reinfeld said the bigger challenge isn’t volume — it’s behavior. Thanksgiving weekend brings people home who haven’t driven local roads in months, and emotions can run high.
“Thanksgiving, I think, tends to be an emotional time for a lot of people,” he said, noting past years when officers responded to multiple bar fights and even a shooting tied to holiday gatherings. Alcohol, unfamiliar routes and winter conditions can collide quickly, he said.
At the state level, the pattern looks similar. Chris Loftis, director of communications for the Washington State Patrol, said Thanksgiving week consistently produces more collisions in Washington, particularly on mountain passes where the weather can change without warning.
Spokesperson for state patrol District 6, Jeremy Weber, said his biggest concern this holiday season is Blewett Pass, due to the aftermath left from the Labor Mountain Fire, which burned roughly 43,000 acres before it was contained at the end of October.
"I get a little bit concerned about moisture, and wet snow or whatever have you, and temperatures changing that ground ... it could slip away a little bit," Weber said about possible mudslides.
Drivers are required to carry tire chains beginning Nov. 1 to March 31, according to the state Department of Transportation, but Loftis says many don’t think about them until it’s too late.
“The Sunday after Thanksgiving can be one of the heaviest travel and vehicular collision days across the state and country,” he said.
That's something Reinfeld also noted. In Wenatchee, Black Friday morning is a time when the police department sees an increase in collisions.
"If there's extra traffic out, like Thanksgiving Friday and Black Friday with sales and stuff, I think we used to see more collisions than we do now in early morning," Reinfeld said. "So early, early morning, like three or four o'clock in the morning, people jockeyed to try to be first or real early to certain stores or certain retailers that were having larger sales."
Emergency room visits
For Confluence Health’s trauma center, the holidays don’t bring in a single defining injury, just more of the same.
“Falls remain the leading cause of trauma care, followed by motor vehicle accidents, both occurring throughout the year,” said Trauma Program Manager Janna Finley.
The winter cold climate can also take many to the ER.
“Each year we see injuries related to skiing, snowboarding, and snowmobiling, which also adds to the seasonal caseload,” she said, noting that icy sidewalks and ladders lead to head injuries and broken bones, especially among older adults.
Traffic outcomes can be even more severe.
“Roughly half of holiday traffic fatalities statewide from Thanksgiving through New Year's involve an impaired driver,” Finley said.
The Washington State Traffic Safety Commission shows that Chelan County experienced 16 traffic fatalities from 2023 to 2024, with 44% involving impaired drivers. In Douglas County, there were 9 traffic fatalities, none of which involved impaired drivers.
And sometimes, the ER sees the unexpected. Finley recalled “a child whose hand became stuck in a kitchen sink drain, requiring the pre-hospital team to cut out the sink and transport the sink with the child’s hand stuck in the drain to the hospital.”
The child wasn’t injured, but the case underscores how unpredictable holiday emergencies can be.
“With over 20 years of trauma nursing experience,” she said, “I encourage everyone to take simple precautions and utilize available community resources to reduce the risk of preventable injuries.”
Home fires
For firefighters, many holiday emergencies start where people gather most: at home. Chelan County Fire Marshal Chris Pedersen said Thanksgiving remains closely tied to cooking accidents, particularly when deep fryers enter the mix.
“The turkey tastes great, but it’s a titch on the dangerous side with the hot oil and the turkey not being thawed like it’s supposed to,” she said.
She added that the bigger issue is distraction.
“You get family around, and you start cooking ... there’s more people in the kitchen,” Pedersen said. “Add a few cocktails in there, and it gets ... You get a little, you know, woo.”
Even without deep fryers, small mistakes can escalate. Pedersen said she sees a common mistake with people throwing water on a grease fire.
Instead, she recommends lids, towels, or an extinguisher, and keeping kids involved but safely positioned.
“Keep them away from the stove,” she said. “Let them help there ... but keep them away from the stove.”
Wenatchee Valley Fire Department Fire Marshal Kurt Blanchard said once temperatures drop, heaters and fireplaces become just as risky.
“If you have a fireplace that you use ... it’s important that you get your chimney flue swept and cleaned before use, especially during the holiday season,” he said, noting creosote buildup from pine can lead to chimney and attic fires.
Space heaters can cause similar problems. If they tip or sit too close to curtains, bedding, or carpets, they can ignite, Blanchard said.
Electrical setups are another recurring problem, particularly during the holidays, when using extension cables or power strips.
“Heating appliances should never be plugged into a power strip,” Blanchard said, adding that extension cords under rugs or doors can unravel unnoticed.
One recent fire, he said, started after “they had put a cord underneath a bathroom door ... and just the friction from the daily opening and closing of that door broke a portion of that wire, and a carpet on fire.”
Blanchard has investigated fires caused by accidentally turning on a stovetop while groceries rested on it, or by a pet. “Large dogs get curious,” he said. “They can accidentally activate a knob.”
For both Pedersen and Blanchard, the message is less about fear than preparation.
“Be mindful of what you're cooking and how you're doing it with family around,” Pedersen said.
For Blanchard, an important tip for safety is making sure residents have working smoke alarms.
“If you do not have smoke alarms in your home, you are more than twice as likely to die in the event of a residential fire.”
© 2025 The Wenatchee World (Wenatchee, Wash.). Visit www.wenatcheeworld.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
