More than 40 incidents reported

MOSES LAKE - The Moses Lake Fire Department extinguished one firework-related fire during the Fourth of July weekend.

On Friday night. a young girl was playing with fireworks near a residence on West Marina Drive, Fire Chief Tom Taylor said Monday. The fireworks started a fire in some shrubs but did not damage the home nearby.

The fire was quickly extinguished and there were no injuries, he said.

Moses Lake police responded to 44-firework related emergency calls over the weekend, Police Chief Dean Mitchell said. No citations were issued because police did not witness fireworks being used or because it was a small child using the fireworks.

The use of fireworks is illegal within the city limits of Moses Lake. The fine for being caught using fireworks is $410.

The majority of firework calls, 23, were reported Friday, according to police records. There were 12 firework-related incidents reported Saturday, five reported Thursday and four reported Sunday.

The majority of incidents were not acted upon by police even though fireworks were located in some incidents. The usual reason was police did not witness anyone using fireworks.

On Friday police located an unsupervised child lighting fireworks in the roadway on West Meridian Avenue, according to a police document. The mother of the child was warned about leaving a child unsupervised with fireworks as well as about the firework ban in the city.

Two other people were warned about using fireworks in the city limits.