Kennewick officials review July 4 fireworks activity after spike in fires, calls

Kennewick City Council members on July 15 heard multiple public complaints about fireworks use and received after-action reports from police and fire officials documenting a sharp rise in fireworks-related incidents during the July 3–5 period.

Council and staff said the city saw more fireworks calls and more fire responses than in 2024 and described a mix of enforcement, education and regional coordination as the near-term response.

The city’s police chief, identified in the meeting as Chief Guerrero, told council officers recorded 181 fireworks-related calls from July 3 through July 5 and 815 other calls during the same period. He said calls by date were 16 on July 3, 117 on July 4 and 48 on July 5, and that the busiest window on July 4 was roughly 8 p.m. to 1 a.m., when 96 fireworks calls occurred. Guerrero said the city deployed two overtime two-person teams (one police officer and one firefighter) to focus specifically on fireworks issues; those teams handled 61 fireworks-related contacts, 31 of which were officer-initiated, and issued 32 verbal warnings.

“I think 1 of the council members, council member Milbauer mentioned, we dealt with those teams dealt with 61 issues related to fireworks,” Guerrero said during his report.

Interim fire leadership (identified as the interim fire chief in the meeting) reported 18 fires during the July 4 evening timeframe that were known or suspected to be caused…