Wild and woolly during its Gold Rush days, California’s town of Dutch Flat with a population today of about 200 (“If everybody’s home,” a local adds) turns pretty wild again on July 4^th. The community’s annual parade loops around town, attracting moms, dogs, kids, dolls, old cars, and community leaders. But it’s the water hijinks during the morning’s festivities that bring out the crowds.

On the sidelines, kids and adults alike man their stations with serious water-fight artillery. Forget wimpy squirt guns. Think water blasters, super soakers and buckets, all at the ready to drench anybody and everybody (although the water-ready soldiers respect the likes of cameras, innocent bystanders, old cars, the grand marshal and color guard). And wait till the local CalFire station’s two fire trucks roll past with the granddaddy of super soaker hoses! Says another local preparing for battle, “We take our water fights very seriously here.”

Nobody seems to know when and how the water-fight tradition began, but it has been this way for many decades, if not longer. Cruise through the photo gallery below to get a feel for the Sierra Nevada small town fun and for a Gold Rush community enjoying a Dutch Flat 4th of July!  (click on each image to see a full-size version with description).