Leave fireworks out of your Fourth celebrations

Dear neighbor, my name is Casey Malmquist and my wife Natalie and I are your neighbors. While we may not have had the pleasure to meet, we look forward to having the opportunity to do so. You have been good neighbors so far and I look forward to a positive ongoing relationship with you and your family.  

I am writing you out of a grave concern for our respective properties and their exposure to this historically severe heat and drought we are experiencing. I have been a full-time resident in Whitefish for over 21 years and have spent my summers in this area for the past 36 years. Never have I experienced the conditions that we are experiencing now, as evidenced by the all of the recent news coverage about the historically hot and dry conditions we are experiencing. 

I am writing to you respectfully, yet pleading to leave out the fireworks in this year’s Fourth of July celebrations. It would only take a single ember to destroy everything we have all worked so hard for, let alone the long-lasting scar a devastating fire would leave on this landscape. We are all living in a tinder box and it seems it would be a very small inconvenience to forgo fireworks this year to preserve our properties and the lovely nature of this valley, our community, and our neighborhoods. 

We live on a typical Montana piece of property and if it were to ignite, which unfortunately is likely to happen with any sort of combustion source, we would likely lose our home, our belongings, and possibly our lives. This seems like a high price to pay for a small amusement. 

It appears it is going to be a long hot summer, and there are already fires burning around us. It is suspected fireworks are responsible for a fire now burning in the North Fork area. 

Politicians and government agencies are relying on “common sense” to avoid what could likely be a disastrous summer for Montana and its residents. Unfortunately common sense is not that common these days. I believe we all need to remember, fireworks and the use of them to celebrate our holidays are not a “right” but a “privilege”. Often are privileges are suspended for the greater good. This is such a time.  

I hope and pray that we make it through this summer without suffering the disastrous consequences of an epic conflagration. Google the Great Conflagration of 1910. In that year, forest fires burned from Eastern Idaho to the East side of Glacier Park in a matter of days and destroyed everything in its path. That year was the driest year on record…until now. We are on track to match or exceed the conditions of that historic summer of 1910. 

I am confident there are many ways we can celebrate this holiday without the use of fireworks. We all be a lot safer (and our pets will be a lot happier!). Thank you and I appreciate your consideration and respect of this request. Sincerely,

 — Casey Malmquist, Whitefish