From South Beach to Taholah, from Ocean Shores to Montesano, our first responders worked tirelessly to keep us safe during this hot and long Fourth of July weekend.
The South Beach Regional Fire Authority responded to a few fireworks related injuries, including two people transferred to area hospitals and one person requiring a Life Flight to a Seattle hospital.
On page one of today’s paper you can read about the attempt to rescue a person off the coast near Taholah, who unfortunately drowned. That effort included the Coast Guard and a search via helicopter. You can also read about a rear-end on U.S. Highway 12 near Montesano on Sunday that had two cars destroyed by fire.
One of our reporters was embedded with the Ocean Shores Fire Department on Thursday night. That crazy scene included a dumpster fire on the beach and the dunes catching fire. Read about that on page two today. For those who took in the show at Ocean Shores, it was non-stop booms and bursts throughout Thursday, Friday, Saturday and a bit on Sunday.
Add to the heat and the dry underbrush throughout Grays Harbor, and our first responders were extremely busy keeping us and our property safe.
Not everyone appreciated the efforts by our police and firefighters.
One Facebook post regarding the Ocean Shores Fire Department was critical of the effort put in by that team. That’s about the most misguided critic we’ve heard of in a long time.
For most of us, the Fourth of July means family, friends, hotdogs and hamburgers on the grill and fireworks shows. It is a time to unwind, let the hair down and enjoy the beginnings of summer, all wrapped around celebrating America.
We want to thank those who had to work this past long weekend, from the restaurant workers and grocery outlets who, especially in Ocean Shores, Westport, Aberdeen and Hoquiam, served the thousands of tourists who came to celebrate.
We imagine our first responders would have loved to enjoy the heat and the cool ocean waters with their friends and family, instead of, for example, breaking up a drunken brawl on the sands of Ocean Shores Thursday night.
One wife of a firefighter responded to the Facebook post that she would have loved to have her husband around this weekend. Instead, he went to work, came home and slept for about five hours, and then headed out again, Thursday through Sunday.
Hopefully they have finally got some rest. Some say the first responders get paid overtime during these busy holidays. We think they would rather have spent the evening going to a fireworks show with their families.
So, The Daily World gives these first responders a massive thank you and hope that maybe you can take a few days off to soak in the sand and the surf with their loved one.
