SEQUIM — On the Fourth of July, Sequim will move its fireworks show to protect a family of eagles and nearby Garry oak trees.
City staff made the recommendation April 28, when they showed drone footage of a known eagle’s nest with two eaglets. The decision did not require a formal city council vote, staff said.
Sequim Public Works Director Paul Bucich told council members they estimated the nest was about 1,600 feet away from where the city’s fireworks show has been discharged since 2021, and due to limitations within the city, Carrie Blake Community Park is the only place to hold a fireworks show.
Through discussion, staff proposed to use the road extension behind the ball fields on the south side of the park where the Sequim Logging Show holds its annual fireworks.
The decision to move the fireworks follows prompts from the public in February and March with concerns about the impact on nearby birds, trees, humans and the environment.
Council members directed staff in March to bring back an actual distance from the nest to the fireworks, and options from other municipalities related to fireworks.
Advocates previously reported that the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act requires the city to have fireworks be at least a half-mile away.
By moving the fireworks, Bucich said the distance would be greater than half a mile from the nest.
He said the move negates the close proximity to the eagles and they’ll no longer need to water the Garry oak trees just north of the park. However, staff will water down the nearby ball fields.
“Seems like a pretty good solution for this year,” Bucich said.
Staff also will monitor the eagles via drone in the weeks after the show to “make sure half a mile is more than enough.”
Fish and Wildlife
In a September 2024 letter to the city, Department of Fish and Wildlife staff recommended the fireworks show be moved or switched to a drone show due to potential fire danger to the Garry oak trees.
Bucich previously said he reached out to their staff and was told there were no concerns as the city was watering the nearby area and monitoring to make sure there was no impact.
Matt Blankenship, assistant regional wildlife program manager for Fish and Wildlife, said fireworks shows are important events for communities, but with Sequim’s event, they have a potential to cause a disturbance and increase risks to wildlife.
“I think the City of Sequim has been doing a proactive job to mitigate (the impact), and for moving (the show), I commend them for that,” he said.
Blankenship added it “should be OK” with the show planned to be a half-mile away.
He said city staff has been collaborative in watering down the Garry oak site — in the Bell Creek Unit and North Olympic Wildlife Area — and they’ve been grateful for that.
Community members have asked Fish and Wildlife to weigh in about fireworks, he said, but agency staff feel, “ultimately it’s the community’s decision whether they want it.”
Future
Discussion about whether to continue the city’s public fireworks show and allow other shows, such as the Logging Show, beyond 2025 did not occur on April 28.
Bucich said it would “be a big step and not something I’d suggest this year.”
Council member Kelly Burger said he appreciated the city’s research and it “seems like a well-thought solution and addresses a lot of concerns the public had.”
Council member Harmony Rutter called the city’s move a “great solution,” but she said some residents remain concerned about fireworks’ impacts on water, air quality and safety as, “on the whole, the environment is getting drier.”
“Following data (about water resources), doing something in the middle of the summer when it’s very, very dry doesn’t make a lot (of sense),” she said.
Rutter said she didn’t think about wildfire season growing up in Washington, but now she must navigate it with her two young children.
“The next generation of humans on this planet deserve to have clean air to breathe,” she said.
Rutter said one fireworks show isn’t causing the haze and smog on the Fourth of July; rather, it’s a cumulative effect.
Public
One person spoke about fireworks during the April 28 council meeting. Dave Bekkevar of the Sequim Logging Show recommended the city continue to allow fireworks shows in the park.
“I hope you folks allow us to keep doing what we’ve been doing out of the kindness of our hearts,” he said.
In March, fireworks proponents spoke about keeping tradition and a sense of community, while opponents shared concerns for local and migratory birds, the environment, and sensitive individuals and pets. Clallam County Fire District 3 Chief Justin Grider said they recommend a public display as an option to possibly prevent injuries from private displays.
Hannah Merrill, Sequim parks and events manager, said at the April 28 meeting she reached out to 25 municipalities to learn 15 host fireworks shows with two on land and 13 over water, while 10 municipalities never had or discontinued fireworks shows.
She said a survey is planned this summer to ask the community its preferences and recommendations for city-run events, such as the Independence Day celebration and Sequim Sunshine Festival.
City staff previously said they will not be holding a formal advisory vote about the public fireworks show.
In 2017, city residents voted 65.6 percent in favor of banning the discharge of personal fireworks, and city council members followed up with a formal vote.
Last October, council members agreed to ban the sale of commercial fireworks in city limits. That will go into effect this October, after allowing one more summer of sales from June 28-July 5.
The Fourth of July fireworks show costs $19,000 from the city’s Lodging Tax fund.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. He can be reached by email at matthew.nash@sequimgazette.com.
