No fireworks for sale on Orcas

If you were planning to buy your legal fireworks on Orcas Island, plan again. They won’t be for sale this year.

And if you buy illegal fireworks in Anacortes, you could find yourself in a whole lot of trouble. Sniffing dogs may be waiting for you and your vehicle at the Anacortes ferry landing over the July 4 weekend.

Acceding to a request by the Orcas Island Fire Department, Rita Harvey and her supporters with Orcas Youth Football won’t be selling fireworks in the Island Market parking lot. The sales have been the main source of funding for the youth program for many years, and Harvey admits that the program will have to look elsewhere for the money. But she agrees that it’s the right call to close the booth, saying “Our gut instinct tells us this was not a good idea.”

The extreme drought conditions prompted the department to make its appeal to Harvey, who is the only person on the island with a license to sell fireworks on Orcas. “It’s unbelievably dry,” explained Public Safety Officer Max Jones, while noting that two wildland fires on Orcas Island last week were likely caused by cigarettes that were tossed from the road. “I don’t ever remember responding (to a wildland fire started by a cigarette),” said Jones, a 25-year member of the department.

With the closure of the fireworks stand on Orcas Island, no fireworks will be for sale in all of San Juan County. They haven’t been available on San Juan or Lopez islands for about a decade, county Fire Marshal Rick Galer said.

Meanwhile, the Washington State Patrol will be conducting random searches of vehicles parked in the Anacortes loading lot. The dogs have been trained to pick up the scent of explosives, according to Capt. Fred Sakkema, with the State Patrol.

Passengers found with legal fireworks, better known as “safe and sane fireworks,” will be allowed to proceed with their fireworks onto the ferry, but those carrying the illegal ones not only will have them confiscated; they could also face hefty fines, Sakkema said.

And even those carrying the legal fireworks could find themselves having to wait while their items are checked out and tested. Sakkema says even if you’re carrying legal fireworks, you should get to the Anacortes landing in plenty of time so you won’t miss the next ferry, Sakkema said.

The San Juan County Sheriff’s Department will be out in force on July 4, the only day of the year when it is legal to shoot off “safe and sane” fireworks. Sheriff’s deputies will be particularly visible at the Eastsound Waterfront Park the evening of July 4, when hundreds of islanders are expected to gather to watch the annual fireworks show. Sheriff Bill Cumming says anybody shooting off fireworks in the vicinity of the crowd, both the legal and illegal ones, will be subject to arrest.

Those whose fireworks start a fire that will have to be extinguished by the Orcas Island Fire Department will have to pay for fire suppression, Jones said, adding that it can be extremely expensive.

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