BELLINGHAM, Wash. -- With the Fourth of July less than a week away, Washington's brief window of legal fireworks sales begins Thursday.

This year, 900 retail fireworks stand have been licensed around the state.

Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal Dan Johnson says it doesn't take much for an evening of fireworks to turn into an outdoor fire.

He says be sure to keep firework safety in mind...



He says 75 percent of fires caused by fireworks each year are wildland fires.

Summer weather conditions make grass and other vegetation dry and vulnerable to fireworks.

Johnson says any firecrackers, bottlerockets and sky rockets purchased on Native American reservations are illegal to use outside the reservation.

Consumer firework sales around the state will begin at noon today and last until 9 p.m. on July 5th.