It's still the wild, wild West

In Hungry Horse, almost anything goes on Independence Day

The Fourth of July in downtown Hungry Horse, at the height of the festivities, is a relentless assault on the senses.

Acrid, sulfuric smoke dries throats and obscures fellow revelers sometimes only yards away. Cracks, bangs, pops, booms and whistles crash through the turbulent air and reverberate in quickly deadened eardrums. Flashes of light constantly draw the eyes - left, right, up - as bits of spent plastic and burned cardboard rain down, gently brushing exposed skin on their way to the ground.

Every Fourth of July, authorities surrender the two blocks of downtown Hungry Horse that are parallel to and just south of U.S. 2 to hundreds of happy revelers. Most bring their own entertainment - which often includes skyrockets, mortars, sparklers and beer.

"It's absolute mayhem up here," said Flathead County Sheriff Mike Meehan, who was patrolling Hungry Horse on Friday with a contingent of extra deputies. "We'll have half the department up here. The other half will be in Bigfork."

People begin to gather in the late afternoon, typically to stake out a spot. Then, at the first hint of dusk, small fireworks and firecrackers begin to pop in a crescendo. As full darkness falls, the crowd just lets 'er rip.

"We can't stop it. We just try and control it," said Sheriff's Lt. Dave Leib, who also was patrolling Hungry Horse on Friday.

Sometimes, homemade fireworks or those bought on the Flathead or Blackfeet reservations make appearances, said John Baran, who has been attending the Hungry horse festivities for 17 years.

"Look around you here," Baran said, pointing out the massive amount of ordnance being exploded and the fun people were having doing it. "It's awesome isn't it? This is what independence is about right here."

Judie Cossette came from Idaho to partake in the festivities. Four generations of her family were present for the fun.

"We grew up here, this is our hometown," said Cossette's daughter, Beckie Lawlor, of Kalispell.

Steve Hartigan of Kalispell showed up with a significant portion of his family and a carload of fireworks. Hartigan said he had been coming to Hungry Horse on July Fourth for about five years, and this year his family spent $400 on fireworks.

"This has always been real friendly," he said.

Today, a crew will come by and clean up all the leavings.

"You wouldn't believe the mess they make here tonight, on these two blocks," Meehan said.

During the festivities, deputies say one of the more dangerous places to be is next to somebody in uniform.

"We keep the windows up," Meehan said. "These cars are targets."

A couple of teenage girls, who took up station around a corner and behind Meehan's patrol sport utility vehicle, began firing Roman candles in the vehicle's direction. When confronted, the girls say they have "rights."

One deputy owns a pair of uniform pants that she wears only to patrol Hungry Horse on Independence Day. The uniform pants, which contain polyester, were burned and melted last year by an errant artillery shell - making them unfit for wear any other time.

Most deputies wear some sort of eye protection, which proved to be a wise precaution as a burning cardboard cinder screamed over and etched itself into the painted roof of a second patrol SUV.

Deputies seem to take the sometimes hectic, and always deafeningly loud, assignment with a certain sense of fatalistic humor, but do become very serious when someone's behavior puts others at risk. It's legal until it's dangerous, they say.

Later in the evening, after many of the families have left, the growing number of teens and adults tend to get a little more rowdy and inventive with their fireworks, Meehan said.

By 9 p.m., deputies, some of whom were undercover, had their eyes on a group of teens suspected of setting off a couple of sparkler bombs.

And as the night progresses, alcohol consumption begins to become a factor in people's behavior.

When Meehan first pulled into Hungry Horse at about 8:30 p.m., a man immediately flagged him down, asking whether deputies would be issuing open-container tickets to people caught drinking beer on the street.

Meehan said they would not.

"The worst part about it is when the folks who live around here go home, and the kids start shooting fireworks across the road," Meehan said. "It got so bad, and there were so many horizontal rockets versus vertical ones, we had to hold a community meeting."

That meeting, convened several years ago by Meehan and then-Sheriff Jim Dupont, brought together law enforcement, local firefighters, business owners, and residents to discuss measures to increase safety at the annual party.

"I think it's calmed down," Meehan said, noting the scarcity of any major or hair-raising incidents this year - unlike one that occurred several years ago.

A tractor-trailer hauling fuel on U.S. 2 was stopped short by a rocket that exploded directly in front of the cab, Meehan said. After locking up the brakes, the scared driver asked Meehan what was going on.

"I said, 'Go, just get out of here,'" Meehan recalled.

On Friday, deputies only arrested two people - besides issuing several warnings and taking at least one intoxicated man home. One woman, a 22-year-old from Idaho, was taken via ALERT helicopter to Kalispell Regional Medical Center after suffering a seizure.

Yes, this year's Fourth of July in Hungry Horse was relatively tame, Meehan said. Relatively tame.

The pandemonium this year was kept to one side of the highway.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden may be reached at 748-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com