MEDICAL LAKE, Wash. – In response to fear stemming from the victims of the Gray Fire, Medical Lake Mayor Terri Cooper has issued an emergency order banning the use of fireworks, but not the sale of them within city limits, solely on this year’s Fourth of July.
“For today this is what’s happening in 2024 for the Fourth of July,” Cooper said.
Independence Day will look different this year in Medical Lake, an Inland Northwest city that is known for allowing the public to use fireworks on July 4. For the first time in years, there will be a ban on the use of fireworks within city limits – yet the mayor said this ban is only in play for this year’s holiday.
However, Cooper’s legal team said her power most likely could not stretch far enough to ban the sale of fireworks within city limits, so Medical Lake’s TNT tent is up and running like normal this week – until eight p.m. Thursday.
A tradition handed over to Deborah Swanby, a TNT sales associate, two years ago.
“They really love their fireworks here,” Swanby said. “I personally have always loved fireworks, it’s like one of my very favorite things.”
Swanby took over the firework stand a couple years ago, after her husband’s cousin, who was always in charge, passed away.
“There’s really a comradery in this specific community,” she said.
Since the news broke out that it would be illegal to shoot off fireworks in Medical Lake this Independence Day, there have been mixed reviews.
“It’s a little bit confusing for people because you can buy but you can’t use in the city of Medical Lake,” Cooper said.
Cooper said the push to ban fireworks this year came from the victims of the Gray Fire that devastated this small eastern Washington town; homes gone, livelihoods affected forever. However, the mayor’s legal counsel didn’t think she had the power to suspend the rights of sellers to sell.
Swanby said business was terrific in 2023 yet is expected to slow down this week due to the ban.
“We understand where they’re coming from, we have a lot of compassion for those people that lost their homes,” Swanby said. “We’re doing this as a fundraiser for our church and this is a long-standing thing in our community, and we’re trying to be here to help them in any way we can, and yet do what we still need to do.”
So, it’s up to the buyer to follow the law. If you’re caught shooting off fireworks this Fourth of July within city limits, you could be charged with a misdemeanor. The decision to charge will be up to the discretion of local law enforcement, which Cooper said will be on duty on Thursday.
As for next year’s Independence Day, Cooper said she hopes things will be back to normal. This year’s celebration will be confined to professional shows, in respect to the victims of the Gray Fire, who fear what a loose firework could do on dry ground.
“This is just for this day, this year, so we’re taking it one day at a time, one season at a time, just hoping they can get their lives rebuilt and then we’ll be ready to move on,” Cooper said.
The city has issued a permit for licensed and professional fireworks show on July 4, which is set to begin at ten p.m. at Waterfront Park. Cooper is hopeful this public display will help ease the sting of not allowing the public to shoot their own fireworks this year.
