Your 2022 guide to 4th of July in the Thumb area

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Whether you want to see them all or are just finding the one closest to home, with the 4th of July coming up this weekend, there are plenty of fireworks– and safety tips– to enjoy around the Thumb area!

Lexington holds the first fireworks of the summer tonight, Friday, July 1. On Saturday, July 2, many of the holiday weekend shows are happening, with Port Sanilac, Port Hope, and Cass City holding their shows. On Sunday the 3rd, Caseville will be holding their display, and on the day of the 4th, Monday, North Branch, and Port Austin will be lighting up the skies with their fireworks. Plus, if you miss this week’s fireworks, there’s always next week on July 8th in Lapeer, and at Harbor Beach on Saturday night July 9th!

However, if you’re keeping to your home turf with your fireworks, the Tuscola County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind citizens that fireworks can be lit off anywhere in the state if you’re on private property from June 29 until July 4th at 11:45 p.m. Anyone found violating the law, be it lighting fireworks outside of the six day holiday time frame or lighting fireworks on streets, sidewalks, another person’s property, a church or a school, will be fined up to $500.

Huron County Sheriff Kelly Hanson also advises firework safety, and wants to remind everyone who will be spending their holiday on the water to have their boats properly equipped and in good working condition, with properly fitting life jackets being worn. Having seen the popularity of kayaking rise the past few years, Sheriff Hanson especially urges kayakers to be prepared, as the lake water will still be cold enough that long-term exposure could cause hypothermia, and not wearing life jackets or thinking one can handle more than their physical limit has caused many a near death experience, and unfortunately has caused death before as well.

With the Huron County Marine Division last year issuing a majority of their tickets to people who were not wearing a life jacket, the village of Port Austin and the village fire department has teamed up again with the Sheriff’s Office to provide loaner life jackets at Bird Creek Beach. Caseville Harbor also has a life jacket loaner station by the launch ramp. Though there will be extra marine patrols over the weekend, it’s important to keep a cell phone on hand and to let someone on shore know where you will be boating.

Also due to the holiday weekend, MDOT will be moving those annoying orange barrels across the state to ease 4th of July travel. Beginning at 3:00 p.m. tomorrow, July 1, until 6:00 a.m. on July 5, 100 of the 162 ongoing projects will be paused. However, though the work may be suspended for a few days, some equipment and larger traffic configurations may remain in place. There’s about four projects in the Thumb area that will not be pausing for the holiday, so try to plan your route accordingly.

The four work zones are as follows: Lapeer Road in Lapeer County, which is closed over and detoured; I-69 in Lapeer County, which will have one lane open in each direction from Lake Pleasant Road to Newark Road; M-25 in St. Clair County’s Port Huron, which will have one lane open in each direction from Hancock street to M-136; and M-90 in Sanilac County, which is closed over the Black River and detoured via Todd Road, Galbraith Line Road, and Wildcat Road.