Hollister
– While illicit explosions could be seen throughout the dark
skies Wednesday, city officials had a relatively quiet night
confiscating illegal fireworks this Fourth of July.
Hollister – While illicit explosions could be seen throughout the dark skies Wednesday, city officials had a relatively quiet night confiscating illegal fireworks this Fourth of July.
City Code Enforcement Officer Mike Chambless, along with Hollister Fire Capt. Mike O’Connor, made the rounds Wednesday evening sniffing out illegal detonations within city limits.
At night’s end the city had confiscated about 100 pounds of illegal fireworks – around one-third of last year’s figure at this time – leading up to and through the Fourth of July.
Public safety officials had confiscated about 300 pounds of fireworks through Independence Day 2006, Chambless estimated.
“We anticipate a large amount of fireworks Friday and Saturday night,” Chambless said Thursday.
The state fire marshal collects all confiscated illegal fireworks in San Benito County. The marshal then buries the fireworks in a large garbage bin and detonates them underground, Chambless said.
Firefighters have been on high alert in recent days, as hot temperatures and dry conditions have combined for a potentially dangerous holiday. Those caught with illegal fireworks are subject to fines and arrests.
Coupled with the rally weekend, Chambless believes residents will use more fireworks at private parties.
CalFire officials, meanwhile, confiscated no fireworks Wednesday, Capt. Jim Dellamonica said. Dellamonica said CalFire confiscated several bottle rockets on the Fourth of July in 2006.
“If they were safe and sane and they were practicing safety, we didn’t bother,” Dellamonica said.
Crews responded to two small firework-related fires Wednesday, Dellamonica said.
“Other than that, the county was pretty quiet,” Dellamonica.
Hollister Fire Capt. Bob Martin Del Campo said the department responded to a trash fire Wednesday night at Gabilan Hills School.
Preventing such fires demands keeping illicit fireworks, those that leave the ground, out of the hands of Hollisterites.
But taking illegal fireworks away from residents isn’t always easy.
People are not always cooperative and even lock their residences, Martin Del Campo said.
“If they can make a confiscation, they confiscate,” Martin Del Campo said. “If they can’t, they record the address and contact them later.”
Anyone convicted of illegal fireworks possession could be fined up to $1,000 and could face up to one year in county jail, according to the California Health and Safety Code.
