With the dry weather, high winds and threat of fire to the community and lands surrounding Whitefish, Whitefish City officials made the decision last week to suspend fireworks.

There was much conjecture and question as to whether our community would follow the emergency ordinance enacted by the Council.

Well, the community and the vast majority of our visitors heeded the warnings, used common sense and allowed our emergency services personnel to concentrate on fire and crime prevention instead of answering hundreds of fireworks complaints.

On Friday, July 3, I was approached by several people while I was at The Wave who asked me, “You ready for a crazy Fourth?”

I responded by telling those individuals that I had confidence in our citizens and was very confident that Whitefish would act to protect our beautiful community. The police department had very few calls and the fire department spent their Fourth mostly with ambulance calls.

I have received many comments from citizens stating how “quiet” the Fourth was.

Thank you, Whitefish, for doing the right thing and showing what community involvement can accomplish.

— Bill Dial is Whitefish Police Chief