Fireworks set off blazes, damaging nine area homes

Flames from Fourth of July fireworks damaged at least nine homes in King and Snohomish counties over the weekend.

Four homes were destroyed or damaged late Saturday and early Sunday in Snohomish County. Four more homes were damaged by a fire blamed on fireworks in Covington, and yet another blaze attributed to fireworks damaged an unoccupied house in Seattle's University District.

One man was injured in the leg by an explosive device thrown from a car in Snohomish County, and a woman with him also was hurt.

Three of the Snohomish County fires were in unincorporated areas, said Leslie Hynes, a spokeswoman for Snohomish County Fire District 1.

The first was reported by a passer-by at about 10:20 p.m. at a vacant home north of Lynnwood, she said. The loss was estimated at $60,000.

Three people watching television escaped after fireworks ignited a blaze at a house east of Everett. Damage was estimated at $150,000.

Two miles to the north of that house, fireworks set off a fire that caused an estimated $1 million damage to a 4,600-square-foot home early Sunday. No one was home at the time.

The fourth Snohomish County fireworks-related fire, in Marysville, was reported shortly before 2 p.m. Saturday.

At its peak, the blaze fully engulfed the house's roof, said Marysville Fire District spokeswoman Kristen Thorstenson.

The residents were home but not injured, she said.

In Covington, fireworks set juniper bushes ablaze in front of a two-story house Saturday evening. The fire spread to the siding, then the attic space and into the dwelling.

Embers thrown into the air set three other houses on fire.

A person has been cited for the Covington fire, police said. Officers said the fireworks were legal but discharged in a dangerous manner.

The Seattle fire, in the 4200 block of 12th Avenue Northeast, started around 12:30 a.m. Sunday in a mattress leaning against a detached garage, then spread to the garage and house. Damage was estimated at $65,000, Seattle Fire Department spokeswoman Helen Fitzpatrick said.

In Eastern Washington, 19 people were homeless after a blaze Friday night in Harrah, Yakima County, destroyed several buildings and burned several hundred tons of hay.

The fire was traced to a young boy lighting fireworks inside a building. Firefighters say the flames spread rapidly through nearly 100-year-old buildings that served as housing for ranch workers and their families.