The Abridged version:
- Sacramento-area agencies deployed fleets of drones and video vans over the Fourth of July weekend in an effort to curb illegal fireworks.
- The city of Sacramento is issuing 70 citations for illegal fireworks totaling $300,000 in fines.
- The Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District received 263 fire-related calls but did not see any major fire incidents this year.
The party for America’s 250th birthday is over and the dust — or the fireworks ash — is beginning to settle.
Local fire departments and law enforcement agencies are beginning to tally the number of illegal fireworks incidents over the Independence Day weekend. Many of the region’s local agencies are preparing to charge fines up to $10,000 for igniting illegal fireworks, some of which were spotted with drones and surveillance tools.
None of the fire agencies in Sacramento County saw any major fires, but dispatchers fielded hundreds of fire-related calls and reports of illegal fireworks.
Agencies in the region are deploying a lineup of new surveillance tools to curb illegal fireworks, spanning fleets of skyward drones, video teams on the ground and hotlines encouraging residents to report sightings of illegal fireworks in their neighborhoods.
$100,000 fine in North Sacramento?
For the first time, the Sacramento Fire Department operated its own fleet of drones, deploying seven on the Fourth of July. The department previously contracted with TNT Fireworks to deploy privately contracted drone operators to look out for illegal fireworks.
Teams of firefighters flew the drones in the north and south area of the city, with a focus on Del Paso Heights and Meadowview neighborhoods, according to Sacramento Fire Capt. Justin Sylvia. The drones were in operation from 8 p.m. to midnight.
The department is already planning to add two more drones next year to cover a broader area, Sylvia said.
“We can’t keep up with it, there’s so much illegal activity,” he said.
The city of Sacramento will issue 70 citations this year, totaling at least $300,000 in fines, according to Sylvia. Those citations only include the illegal activity noted on the Fourth of July. The city is still determining the number of citations from July 2-3.
A single home in North Sacramento will be facing a fine of $100,000, Sylvia said. That’s the equivalent of about 20 illegal fireworks under Sacramento’s escalating fines charged for each illegal device.
The Sacramento department also had firefighters in vehicles taking video surveillance from their cellphones. The video was then matched with Google Maps addresses to determine which property owner will eventually receive a citation in the mail.
By the end of July, the city of Sacramento will send out citations to property owners where illegal fireworks were discovered.
Last year, only about $150,000 of the citations were paid to the city, Sylvia said, of a total of $267,000 in fines issued.
Sacramento County took 293 calls
A single drone flown by the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District was used for 10 different “missions,” or flights to the locations of alleged illegal fireworks sightings on the holiday. Of those flights, the drone confirmed three different places where illegal fireworks were launched, said Capt. Mark Nunez, public information officer with Sacramento Metro Fire.
Grass fires were the greatest concern for the fire district, Nunez said. The department received 293 fire-related calls, none of which led to reports of major incidents.
“This year was actually a lot more mellow,” Nunez said. “I was out and about; I didn’t see as many fireworks in the air as I had in the past.”
Another fleet of drones was also dispatched by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, which also handles enforcement efforts in much of the county. Representatives of the Sheriff’s Office did not respond to emails and calls seeking comment.
The city of Citrus Heights also ran its own drone as part of its illegal fireworks enforcement efforts, as well as “ground units,” Lt. Bill Dunning said. The number of calls for service and estimates on the number of citations in the Citrus Heights were not immediately available.
“We really anticipated it would be pretty wild, but it doesn’t appear it was that way,” Dunning said.
Dunning said that communication efforts on the front end, like the warnings about potential fines, were a major deterrent for incidents this year.
Felicia Alvarez is a reporter at Abridged covering accountability. She’s called Sacramento home since 2015 and has reported on government, healthcare and breaking news topics for both local and national news outlets.