This morning the Kent Fire Department Regional Fire Authority issued a message to residents and visitors of Kent and Covington regarding the Fourth of July.

Fireworks Hours (only on July 4th):

Kent:  9 am – 11 pm
Covington:  9 am – midnight

Safety tips:

1.  Attend one of the many area fireworks displays. Click here for a list.

2.  Only purchase and discharge legal fireworks.

3.  Have a garden hose, bucket of water or fire extinguisher nearby while using fireworks.

4.  Fireworks should be discharged under an adult’s supervision.

5.  Do not discharge fireworks in areas that are dry or where the danger of a fire is high.

6.  Do not discharge fireworks near pets or animals.

For safety tips and more information on which fireworks are legal and which are not, visit the Kent Fire Authority online.

Call 9-1-1 to report illegal fireworks, but please keep in mind that call volumes will be high and non-life and non-property threatening calls will be secondary to more serious emergencies.

Please enjoy your holiday safely!

The City of Kent invites you to celebrate the Fourth of July at Lake Meridian Park (14800 SE 272nd St., Kent) in the city’s annual Fourth of July Splash celebration from noon to 11 p.m. today!

Activities include:

• Old-fashioned games
• Athletic skills contests
• Family games
• Craft project
• Big Blue, the Kent Parks Mobile Technology Bus
• Face painting by “The Magic Brush”
• Inflatable bouncers
• Watermelon and pie eating contests
• Boat parade
• Entertainment on the stage
• Fireworks display

For more info., including shuttle bus locations and schedule, visit the City of Kent website.

The event is proudly sponsored by Allied Waste, Campbell’s Dentistry, Dollarwise Check Cashing & Loan Center, Kent School District, Marlatt Funeral Home, McDowell’s U Frame It, Smith Brothers Daily and RSC.

From the City of Kent:

Thousands are expected to attend Kent’s annual 4^th of July Splash and evening fireworks celebration at Lake Meridian Park.  But other parks get heavy use over the holiday weekend, too. The result is debris from unauthorized fireworks littering the parking lots and grounds.

So, neighbors, families, scouts and other volunteers are invited to donate an hour or two between 9:00-11:00 a.m. on Monday, July 5^th, to help clean up one of the hardest-hit parks.  The select parks are West Hill Park and West Fenwick Park on the west hill and Morrill Meadows Park and North Meridian Park on the east hill.

“We encourage volunteers to work together to ‘be green’ and keep recycling separate from trash,” said Parks Director Jeff Watling.  Trash bags will be dropped off at each park site for volunteers to use and maintenance staff will pick up full bags afterwards.  A Parks staff member will travel to each site, beginning on the west hill from 9-10 and moving to the other parks for the last hour.

Registration forms are available at www.KentWAParks.com, click on Volunteer, or call 253-856-5110.  Registration is encouraged by July 1 to give staff an idea of community interest.