Law enforcement finds few problems on Fourth

Compared with last year, the Fourth of July was a picnic.

Concerned about drunkenness, unsafe fireworks and other problems near Hungry Horse that made a fearful gas-station owner shut down last year, the Sheriff's Office stepped up patrol this year.

"We really feel it was a success in Hungry Horse," said Undersheriff Mike Meehan. "It was very much more controlled this year."

During meetings with residents and business owners, sheriff's officers had made the point for months that they didn't want to ruin the fun, but they wanted less chaos and danger.

"I think they knew we meant business," Meehan said.

"We tried to keep fireworks on one side of the road," he said. Last year, drivers on U.S. 2 were caught in the crossfire of people launching fireworks from both sides. About 30 people thanked Meehan and others for making changes, he said.

Bigfork typically is another community with a concentration of people and problems on the Fourth.

This year, it was "a fairly well-behaved crowd," Meehan said.

The jail also had a high concentration of people. There were 107 people confined there, according to patrol Cmdr. Pete Wingert.

In all, the Sheriff's Office had about 600 calls from Friday afternoon to Tuesday morning, he said.

Numerous reports were received about people objecting to fireworks. They included complaints about people launching fireworks into traffic and igniting explosives that rattled windows at several locations. At Blankenship Bridge, it sounded "like World War III going on," one person said.

Kalispell and South Kalispell fire departments went to Willow Glen Drive where a young man was hit in the eye by fireworks. Some people on Lake Hills Drive were reportedly hit with fists over fireworks when a neighborhood problem went off like a Roman candle.

In Kalispell, where fireworks are illegal, police received about 30 complaints, starting Monday afternoon.

That's about average, Police Chief Frank Garner said.