Why Oregon's McNary Dam Is Shooting Off Fireworks at Odd Times

You'd think shooting off fireworks at a dam is reserved for special events like the 4th of July or New Year's, but there's another reason why those at McNary Dam, near the Tri-Cities, will hear random fireworks going off at random times.

Why Oregon's McNary Dam Shoots Off Fireworks at Odd Times

My wife went hiking yesterday and heard the booming of fireworks, but couldn't figure out why the dam was shooting off fireworks in the middle of the day until she asked why.

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She was surprised to find that shooting off fireworks would scare off the birds from snapping up the fish, so it helps keep the fish population up. I was surprised by that as I had no idea.

The Surprising Secrets Behind McNary Dam's Fireworks

I did a quick Google search and discovered that Oregon does use fireworks and even uses propane cannons to scare off birds. It's not your imagination when you hear random booms in the air, odds are, they are scaring off birds at McNary Dam outside of Umatilla, Oregon.

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I did a quick search for Washington State, and surprisingly, WA State isn't doing that at the dams. King County, a few years back, requested the use of fireworks to scare off some bald eagles out of the trash dumps, but no mention of using fireworks at a dam.

So if you are curious why you are hearing fireworks at McNary Dam at odd times, that's the reason.

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