Police cite dozens for fireworks violations in Hollister

Hollister Police received hundreds of calls over the Fourth of July period, including scores of reports of illegal fireworks that resulted in dozens of citations, authorities said.

The use of illegal fireworks in Hollister in recent days has also resulted in fires, property damage and, in one case, a resident displaced from their home due to fireworks damage, police added.

On July 4 and over the holiday weekend, the city’s police, code enforcement and animal control officers participated in a “concentrated effort to locate illegal fireworks and issue citations to those residents and visitors who were lighting them,” the Hollister Police Department said. 

On each night of concentrated enforcement, additional personnel from each police department shift worked in unmarked cars to patrol Hollister and respond to calls. Authorities placed two officers in each vehicle for safety reasons. 

A Hollister Police sergeant supervised the officers involved in the effort, HPD added. 

From July 4-7, the Santa Cruz Regional Dispatch system documented 601 reported incidents in Hollister, local police said. Of these, Hollister Police received more than 78 calls reporting illegal fireworks. 

The fireworks enforcement team cited 33 people in Hollister for possessing, lighting or facilitating the use of fireworks, police said. 

A Hollister Police aerial drone—piloted by a local officer—located four of the alleged violators who were cited for illegal fireworks activity, authorities added. 

During the same period, the Hollister Police patrol team made 161 traffic stops and 22 arrests, the department said. Seven of these were for DUI, and 95 were for traffic misdemeanor and traffic citations. 

“Illegal fireworks are an ongoing problem in our city,” Hollister Police said in a press release. “This year, once again, they have led to suspicious fires, damaged city property and the displacement of residents from their homes, when an illegal firework was allegedly purposely ignited inside the downstairs vacant apartment.

“We heard from so many residents with legitimate complaints about the aerial bombardment, the excessive noise and dangerous explosions. The department wants to thank all our residents who celebrated in a safe and sane manner.”