Washington State Ferries officials said the system was very busy for the Fourth of July weekend throughout the system but especially on the Clinton-Mukilteo route. Ferry officials hadn’t computed the numbers yet, but expect to have them by the end of the week.

The holiday ferry wait at Mukilteo for people trying to get to Whidbey Island started early for drivers.

“Traffic began to back up on Wednesday, July 2,” said ferry spokeswoman Susan Harris Huether. “We saw a lot of three- to four-hour waits with a combination of regular commuters and folks headed to the island for the holidays.”

Extra sailings on Wednesday and Thursday helped but it was still busy.

On the Keystone-Port Townsend route all the late afternoon and early evening ferries were fully booked on July 2 and July 3.

On either run, no major problems developed beyond some frayed tempers from waiting in line.

“This year there were no major busts of people found with illegal fireworks,” Harris Huether said. “They are not welcome on our ferries and folks are finally getting the message.”