This Independence Day, Sequim’s fireworks show will move farther south to protect a family of eagles and nearby Garry oak trees.

City of Sequim staff made the recommendation at the April 28 council meeting where they showed drone footage of a known eagle’s nest with two eaglets. The decision did not require a formal vote, staff said.

Paul Bucich, Sequim public works director, told councilors they estimated the nest was 1,500-1,600 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 was the only place to hold a fireworks show.

Through discussion, city staff proposed to use the road extension behind the park’s ball fields on the south side of the park where the Sequim Logging Show holds its annual fireworks.

This year, the Logging Show’s fireworks are set for dusk on Friday, May 9.

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.

Councilors 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 to the city that the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act required 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 (about 0.5019 miles) 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 will also monitor the eagles via drone in the weeks after the Independence Day show to “make sure half-a-mile is more than enough.”

Image courtesy City of Sequim/ An eagle’s nest, pictured at the bottom of the photo from a drone, has led the City of Sequim’s staff to move the Fourth of July fireworks show to the ball fields. They’ll also monitor the birds in the weeks afterward to see the level of impact.

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.

To follow up, 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.

In an interview, Matt Blankenship, assistant regional wildlife program manager for Fish and Wildlife, said fireworks shows are important events for communities but with a wildlife area next to 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 that with the show planned to be half-a-mile away, “that should be OK.”

He said the city’s 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.

He said community members have asked them to weigh in about fireworks, but agency staff feel in this case that “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 of the conversation that it’d “be a big step and not something I’d suggest this year.”

Councilor Kelly Burger said he appreciated the city’s research and that it “seems like a well-thought solution and addresses a lot of concerns the public had.”

Fellow councilor 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.

As a child, 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 also said one fireworks show isn’t causing the haze and smog on the Fourth of July, as it’s a cumulative effect.

Public

At the April 28 council meeting, only one person spoke in public comments about fireworks: Dave Bekkevar with the Sequim Logging Show, who 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, proponents of fireworks 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. Fire Chief Justin Grider with Clallam County Fire District 3 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% in favor of banning the discharge of personal fireworks with city councilors following up with a formal vote. Last October, councilors agreed to ban the sale of commercial fireworks in city limits, with that going into effect this October, after allowing one more summer of sales from June 28-July 5.

The Fourth of July fireworks show costs the city’s Lodging Tax fund $19,000.

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ An eagle’s nest sits above property owned by Fish and Wildlife and near residences and north of Carrie Blake Community Park. To lessen impact on the eagle’s nest, the City of Sequim is moving its Fourth of July show to just over half-a-mile away from the nest.