Following the Fourth, we asked people:
Do you believe Fourth of July celebrations in Bend have gotten out of control?
What do you see as a possible solution?
Chloe Moe
I think Fourth of July has always been a crazy holiday, especially lately with Trump being our president. I think Americans are just kind of going insane right now, but also a lot of tourists come to this town during that time so I think that has a lot to do with making it crazy. I don't necessarily know what we could do to change that, Bend is such a pretty place.
Alcohol is advertised everywhere here so that definitely doesn't help. The Freedom Ride is a drunk, public bike ride for everyone. My friend was hit by a car on the fourth and almost passed away from it. She wasn't hit by a drunk driver though, she was actually drunk on a bike. It's so hard with all the breweries around here.
Matt Baldwin
I think it's just a sign of all the people in town. Out of control is a little relative. They have noise ordinances and all that stuff already, I think you just have to roll with the punches of a growing town.
Sarah Compton
They don't seem out of control to me — but we stayed in our neighborhood and then watched Pilot Butte fireworks from our bedroom. We came from North Carolina and there were a lot less illegal fireworks here, at least that's what it seemed like. The noise was better, my children all fell asleep well before nine o'clock.
Thomas Comerford
We live just down the river across from the park and the only thing I've seen is a lot of fireworks. Firecrackers and cherry bombs, very loud explosions that extend way past midnight. We have a dog who trembles pretty much the whole evening so it would be nice if something would be done to limit the illegal fireworks. I'm not sure what a solution is, but it's a real problem.
Olivia O'Shaughnessy
I feel that specific activities such as the Freedom Ride have become more popular so they haven't necessarily become out of control, but just much more populated. A possible solution to the problem could be more police force watching the events to keep people safer.
Elizabeth Schniepp
I've lived in Bend about 15 years. The festivities have definitely gotten bigger, I don't know if I'd call it out of hand. They've gotten bigger than they were, but I think it has been alright so far.
Intern Sophia Sahm contributed to this report.
