Tri-Cities fireworks sales ready to explode amid July 4 cancellations. Firefighters bracing
With professional fireworks shows canceled around the Tri-Cities, people are itching to shoot off their own at home.
The Fourth of July holiday is a week away but people were already showing up last week at closed fireworks stands.
Sales can’t legally start until Sunday, but some folks were trying to persuade dealers to bend the rules.
“If we were open already, we probably could have had $700,” Pasco Pastor Saul Robledo said Friday.
“I think it’s going to be a better year. It’s going to be harder, but being that cities aren’t having displays, the only place that people are going to have is their neighbors or themselves.”
The Tri-Cities New Life Church’s fireworks stand at the corner of Court Street and 22nd Avenue is one of about 20 opening up across the Tri-Cities starting June 28.
Robledo is expecting a brisk business but he also wants to be careful in how he operates to avoid spreading the coronavirus. Buyers will have to stand 6-feet apart as they walk through his sales tent.
“It’s going to be one way in and one way out,” he told the Herald. “They’re not going to be able to roam.”
The four workers inside the stand will have masks and gloves. They are also offering curbside service, where they will use a laminated card to take a person’s order, then fill it and ring up the purchase.
“It’s going to be a whole different ballgame,” he said. “Who knows, this might be something that if it works great, we might just do it the same way next year.”
The fundraiser benefits the church which has the same monthly expenses but has lost about half its normal donations during the pandemic. Churches across the Tri-Cities are closed as the counties remain in Phase 1 of the state’s safe start plan.
Safety and rules
But the expected surge in personal fireworks sales has Tri-Cities fire officials more nervous than usual.
Benton and Franklin county fire chiefs put out a message this week urging extra fireworks safety.
Kennewick Fire Chief Chad Michael, Pasco Chief Bob Gear, Richland Chief Tom Huntington and Benton County Fire District 4 Acting Chief Paul Carlyle read from a joint script.
“Please remember that fireworks can cause serious injury, permanent structure damage and can contribute to extreme fire danger throughout our community,” Huntington read.
Fireworks are banned in Kennewick, Prosser, Connell and unincorporated Franklin County. This includes the portion of Franklin County that’s surrounded by Pasco that is referred to as the “doughnut holes.”
For the other areas of the Tri-Cities, the rules can change from place to place. The best way to stay within the rules to buy fireworks from stands within the city where you plan to use them in.
Pasco
People can use fireworks noon and 11 p.m. on Sunday, and then 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday and on July 5.
On July 4, you can use fireworks from 9 a.m. to midnight.
They are limited to the ground, but you can use fireworks that send out colored or white smoke.
The new rules also allow cone and cylindrical fountains, sparklers, wheels and ground spinners.
Aerial fireworks like Roman candles and bottle rockets are banned.
Firework stands are at:
- 2617 W. Sylvester St., Moose Lodge
- 810 W. Columbia St., Griggs parking lot
- 3521 W. Court St, Goodwill parking lot
- 6600 Burden Blvd., HAPO Center parking lot
- 2019 W. Court, Wine Country Furniture
- 4905 Road 68, Yoke’s Fresh Market
- 4820 Road 68, Walmart
- 115 S. 10th Ave., Fiesta Foods
West Richland
West Richland fireworks can be set off 6 to 11 p.m. Thursday and Friday. On July 4, they can be lit from 6 p.m. to midnight.
West Richland allows any type of firework legally available in the state to be sold in the city.
That includes small shells, Roman candles, smoke devices and other aerials.
The locations of the firework stands in West Richland was not available.
Richland, Benton City and Benton County
Richland allows fireworks noon to 11 p.m. on Sunday, then 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and on July 5.
On July 4, you can use fireworks from 9 a.m. to midnight.
Benton County also allows them on July 6 from 9 a.m. to noon.
Benton City only allows fireworks from noon to 11 p.m. from Sunday to Friday. On the holiday, people can fire them until midnight.
The three areas share the same rules. People can use only sparklers, fountains and novelty snaps. Ground spinners and smoke devices are not allowed.
While Benton County does not have firework stands, Richland has several. They are at:
- 103 Keene Road
- 1380 Lee Blvd.
- 1415 George Washington Way
- 1320 Lee Blvd.
- 690 Gage Blvd.
- 454 Keene Rd.
- 2801 Duportail St.
- 101 Wellsian Way
- 2825 Queensgate Drive