As residents of Sanders County prepare for the Fourth of July holiday, people were busy decorating their towns and opening the doors on firework stands to celebrate the nation’s independence.

Charlotte Slider and Karen Wilmer were busy setting up 200 American Flags on the greenway in Plains. Slider and Wilmer said the display of flags goes up for the Fourth of July and Memorial Day every year.

“It’s kind of our thing. This is how we celebrate America and Independence Day,” said Wilmer.

As Sanders County readies itself for the Fourth of July celebration, fireworks stands are popping up around the area selling things that will go off with a bang for eager shoppers. Local residents had a dizzying array of choices in fireworks to celebrate Independence Day this Thursday.

From the typical smoke bombs and black cats to artillery and pre-loaded displays, Ginny Dyer of Thompson Falls sells it all at her stand just outside of town. Dyer has been selling fireworks since 1996. While her stand may be relatively small, her selection was anything but small.

Packed into her modest firework stand was an incredible array of things to light up the sky. Buzz bombs and rockets, sparklers and Saturn missiles, fountains and artillery launchers all could be found stuffed into the stand. Dyer said there were some interesting new products this year.

“I’m really excited about the fluorescent sparklers. The colors are amazing,” said Dyer. “We also have some new fountains. I also have an American Flag sky lantern that is new this year.”

Dyer said the best sellers in past years were the pre-loaded displays. In contrast to the artillery shells where consumers light off one shell at a time, Dyer said with this product people light one fuse and sit back to watch the show.

“These are similar to the professional displays. People don’t want to keep going back to light things off. With this you have one fuse to light and you don’t have to run back and forth,” said Dyer.