Warm weather meant sandbars were lined with pontoons and boats over the weekend, but the clear skies also meant firefighters were scrambling, due to a seemingly never-ending barrage of fireworks-related fires throughout the weekend.

"They were spread all over,"said Brandon Fitterer, a firefighter with Bismarck Rural Fire Department. "They were all pretty small; most of them were in open fields."

But enough small fires in a plenty of open fields kept Bismarck Rural, sometimes assisted by Bismarck FireDepartment, pretty busy throughout the weekend, Fitterer said. There was no major property damage reported. Most fires, Fitterer said, were in fields and road ditches.

The area hospitals both saw several patients over the weekend for minor fireworks-related injuries; no major burns or injuries were reported, representatives said.

The Bismarck Police Department responded to several fireworks complaints over the weekend, said Sgt. Jeff Solemsaas. Most violators of the city's no-fireworks policy received warnings or citations, he said.

"We having been citing a whole lot,"Solemsaas said. "We usually give them a warning. Most people were pretty understanding about it."

Weatherwise, the area was relatively dry over the weekend, save a minor thunderstorm Saturday morning and some light precipitation in the afternoon. Temperatures exceeded 90 degrees on Saturday, averaging about 77 for the weekend.

While the area has had some moisture recently, Fitterer with Bismarck Rural said there is still risk for fire.

"Probably one thing that people need to know is that even though it's still green, the possibility of starting a fire is still there,"he said. "Keep a bucket of water or fire extinguisher around at all times."

(Reach reporter Crystal R. Reid at 250-8261 or at crystal.reid@;bismarcktribune.com.)