Tulalip Tribes’ fireworks bazaar opens for business June 21 just off 88th Street exit, much to the dismay of Marysville Fire Department.
By Theresa Goffredo
Herald Writer
TULALIP — In about two weeks, the Tulalip Tribes’ popular bazaar of fireworks stands known as "Boom City" will open for business at a new location closer to I-5.
Though Boom City’s new spot is bigger, more convenient for consumers and safer, the move has set off concerns among some tribal stand owners who worry that people won’t be able to find them.
"I hope that the new and returning customers will visit our new location," said longtime stand owner Eleanor Nielsen. "The site is very much safer because there won’t be any fireworks allowed to be ignited there."
And Boom City’s move also has sparked anxiety and an unhappy mood among Marysville Fire District officials, who have new safety concerns now that Boom City is in their district.
"We have a contractual relationship with the tribes, and I’d like to foster that relationship, but we were pretty happy where it was," Marysville Fire Chief Greg Corn said Friday.
Over the next two weeks, the 174 fireworks booths and 13 concession stands of Boom City will be moved from the old location in an area facing Tulalip Bay to the new 11-acre plot on 27th Avenue NE off the 88th Street exit of I-5.
Stands are expected to be open for business June 21, with sales of fireworks continuing until midnight July 4.
Moving Boom City closer to I-5 might in the end prove to be more profitable for stand owners. But they are concerned that customers will not know immediately where to go after buying fireworks at the same spot for the past 22 years.
And tribal stand owners wonder what will happen next year, because their spot near Quil Ceda Village business park is only temporary.
"We’re back to square one" should Boom City move again, stand owner Nielsen said. "The general counsel of all tribal members voted for the tribe to pay for our move, to reimburse us, that’s why they’re doing what they are doing," she said. "So it would be really disappointing, and I think it would be confusing for our customers."
Tribal members who operate the stands rely on the money they make during the 13 days of July Fourth sales. And over the years, longtime owners such as Nielsen have invested tens of thousands of dollars in improvements, including buying generators to light their stands, replacing old stands, and paying for security guards and traffic controllers.
| Fireworks laws vary town to town
Most cities and counties have tighter restrictions on fireworks than the state. The following is a guide to the myriad of fireworks rules in Island and Snohomish counties.
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Also, it costs tribal members $600 a year in fees paid to the tribes to operate a stand, plus an additional $200 to haul the stands to the site and back.
Nielsen, who has operated her stand since 1981, said she spent more than $7,000 last year to stock and prepare her stand. She said tribal stand owners can earn between $3,500 to $10,000 in sales. Nielsen said she made $10,000 last year.
"But we’ve had people go belly up, and I’m sure a few will this year," said the 65-year-old Nielsen.
Tulalip Tribes board members resisted moving Boom City near Quil Ceda Village permanently because they feared it would deter other business owners from wanting to set up shop at the business park with its prominent location right off I-5, tribal government affairs director John McCoy said.
But the tribes had no choice but to allow Boom City to move temporarily because the fireworks bazaar was in the way of a new medical clinic being built at the old spot, McCoy said.
"Everybody knows this is one year only, and the board gets to start thinking about where they might go permanently," McCoy said.
Though temporary, the site will be plumbed for water and have electricity so the spot can be used later, possibly for a recreational vehicle park, McCoy said.
When Boom City moved, the fireworks bazaar also changed fire districts.
That made fire officials from District 15, which covers the old Boom City location, "tickled," District 15 fire commissioner Pete Walton said.
"Prior to the Fourth, traffic was so intense along Marine Drive that it was very difficult for our emergency vehicles to respond to normal emergencies," Walton said.
And Fire District 15 firefighters would "keep their fingers crossed" every year in hopes that one of the stands wouldn’t catch fire, causing a domino effect with other stands stationed side-by-side.
"The thought of one of them getting out of control, even though they were only two blocks from us, those thoughts were horrendous," Walton said.
Now those thoughts fill the mind of Marysville Fire Chief Greg Corn. And the basis for his fears go beyond a vivid imagination.
Boom City is out of compliance with state laws, Corn said. Those laws require fireworks stand to be built 100 feet from each other. After seeing plans for the new Boom City, Corn said he fears the Tulalips won’t be complying with that requirement.
Marysville firefighters have agreed to respond to Boom City for fireworks injuries or if a brush or grass fire sparks up. But Corn said he would not send his crews in should a catastrophic domino explosion occur.
"If there’s a catastrophe, we will hope and encourage evacuation, but we’re going to stand back and watch the fireworks," Corn said. "With that amount, a detonation with multiple missiles or rockets wouldn’t be safe for our crews."
Because the Tulalips are regulated by federal laws, Marysville cannot enforce state fire codes on tribal property. Those federal laws also allow firecrackers and bottle rockets to be sold on tribal land, though they are illegal off the reservation, Corn said.
Corn credits the Tulalips with cracking down on the sale of illegal fireworks, such as M-100’s and other explosives.
In May, two Tulalip tribal fireworks stand owners were sentenced in U.S. District Court for selling illegal fireworks.
"We’re aggressively policing that," McCoy said about the sale of illegal fireworks.
As for the stands being 100 feet apart, stand owner Nielsen said the law doesn’t apply to tribal fireworks operations. Also, she said stand owners met with the Marysville fire marshal and agreed to set their stands 10 feet apart. In the old location, stands were 4 feet apart, she said.
"It’s very much an improvement," Nielsen said. "And you’re not setting any fireworks off there at the site, and I’m personally glad that’s gone."
You can call Herald Writer Theresa Goffredo at 425-339-3097
or send e-mail to goffredo@heraldnet.com.
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