MARQUETTE -- Fireworks are a staple in every 4th of July celebration, and now a new law is allowing Michiganders to snatch up high-flying spectacles just in time for Independence Day.
"People are excited to come in here," said Karen Wares, manager of the Spread Eagle Fireworks tent in Marquette Township. "They're wanting the good stuff, and they're not leaving our state to go buy it now."
Wares has made room for hot-items like bottle rockets, firecrackers and mortars, all of them previously banned in Michigan.
You do have to be 18 years of age to purchase any kind of fireworks, a law that Wares strictly enforces.
"Kids, never do it without an adult; even adults, be careful because it's a whole new thing we're doing this year. It's fun, but you need to use caution and be careful," Wares said.
Before you start lighting up the sky, fire officials are reminding the public to beware of their surroundings on the ground.
"Make sure that you're in an area where you're not going to set the brush or grass on fire," said Tom Belt, Fire Chief of the Marquette Fire Department. "If you're adjacent to woodlands, you have to be extremely careful."
The bigger the better often applies to firework displays, and that may be best left in capable hands.
"Really, our bottom line in the fire department is let the professionals do it. Come out to the great fireworks shows we have in the various towns in the U.P.," Belt said.
The city of Marquette will be launching their fireworks off the Old Ore Dock in Lower Harbor.
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