A two-story house in Magnolia caught fire just before 11:30 p.m. on July 4, after fireworks left in a trash can smoldered, spread to a wooden fence, jumped to a detached shed, and then set the home ablaze.

No one was hurt.

That fire was one of at least 22 fireworks-related blazes the Seattle Fire Department responded to over the holiday weekend, according to SFD spokesperson Kaila Lafferty.

Harborview Medical Center reported 86 fireworks injuries during the same period, up 65% from 52 injuries the prior year. Over a third of this year's injuries were to the hands.

The personal use of fireworks in Seattle and all of King County is illegal. Fines range from $215 to $1,000, according to KIRO7 reporting on county ordinances. Firecrackers, bottle rockets, and missiles are illegal to sell or possess anywhere in Washington state outside designated tribal lands.

For disposal: soak used fireworks in water before placing them in the trash. Never put them in recycling. Keep water nearby whenever fireworks are present, and never attempt to relight a dud.

The following night, July 5, fireworks landed on the roof of an apartment building on the 200 block of 10th Ave S in the Central District and ignited dry vegetation. The fire spread to 75 percent of the roof before crews extinguished it. No one was hurt, but the blaze hit a multi-unit residential building in a neighborhood already under significant housing pressure.

Lafferty said SFD also responded to one fireworks-related emergency medical situation beyond the 22 fires. In South King County, the Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority treated one adult and four children for critical fireworks injuries, according to Division Chief Pat Pawlak.

"Anything that will throw a spark onto the landscape has the potential to create a wildland fire," Ryan Rodruck of the Washington Department of Natural Resources told KNKX before the holiday weekend. In the 2025 fire season, 79 wildland fire starts statewide were directly attributed to private fireworks use, according to the department.

King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties were all under a Stage 1 burn ban heading into the Fourth of July weekend after a hot, dry June.

As of July 8, no city council hearing on fireworks enforcement appears on the public calendar, though the city's scheduling page was not fully accessible at publication time. The Seattle Fire Department has not announced a press conference or policy review in response to the injury spike. Residents can check the current council calendar at seattle.gov/council.

Reporting gap: No neighborhood-level breakdown of where the 22 fires occurred has been released. Residents can request that data under Washington's Public Records Act (RCW 42.56) at seattle.gov/cityrecords.