Hollister fire officials confiscated more illegal fire crackers
over the Fourth of July weekend then in years past, although only a
few small blazes were ignited because of the bootleg sparklers.
Hollister – Hollister fire officials confiscated more illegal fire crackers over the Fourth of July weekend then in years past, although only a few small blazes were ignited because of the bootleg sparklers.
And while Hollister Fire Marshal Michael O’Connor said no arrests were made for possession of illegal fireworks, a small number of citations were issued. He credited the confiscations and lack of major fires to having eight firefighters and law enforcement officials out on patrol instead of two last year.
“As far as damage, this was a better year than we’ve had in the past,” O’Connor said. “I don’t know if it was the enforcement, but I think we definitely prevented a lot of fires.”
Law enforcement levels were much higher this year than in the past, including for the California Highway Patrol. More than 100 CHP officers from Santa Cruz, Monterey, Oakland, Contra Costa, Dublin, Livermore and San Luis Obispo were patrolling the Hollister and Gilroy area, according to CHP Officer Matt Ramirez.
They made 44 driving under the influence arrests. Of the 30 traffic collisions, six had injuries, Ramirez said. One collision that police believe is alcohol-related resulted in the death of a motorcyclist from Lompoc.
Another single-vehicle motorcycle crash sent a Claremont woman to the hospital with massive head trauma. She succumbed to her injuries Sunday, according to the Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office.
“It was a pretty busy weekend, and we’re still going through all the paperwork,” Ramirez said. “But there were far more arrests than last year.”
Firefighters were just as busy as cops, except their primary focus was taking illegal fire crackers off the streets, O’Connor said.
He estimated the department confiscated a couple of hundred pounds of illegal fireworks – at least enough to fill up the back of a pick-up truck. An exact amount of confiscated product won’t be available for a couple of days.
In one incident Monday, a bottle rocket, which is illegal in California, started a roof fire in the 1600 block of Tiburon Drive, O’Connor said. Residents first attempted to put the fire out themselves. After firefighters arrived it took about 30 minutes to put out the flames, but not before an approximately 4 by 6-foot hole had been burned into the shake roof over the garage. O’Connor said the entire roof will have to be replaced, probably at a cost of between $1,000 to $2,000.
No one in the area would tell officials where the bottle rocket came from and there were no fireworks to be seen on the premises, O’Connor said. Firefighters left without issuing a citation or making an arrest.
A small grass fire from a “ground fountain,” which sprays up sparks, started a fire near Steinbeck Drive on Friday, burning a 20 by 25-foot area, O’Connor said. Neighbors had extinguished the fire by the time firefighters arrived to help, he said.
A third fire was started by incompletely extinguished fireworks on Tres Pinos Road in a garbage can behind Gold’s Gym over the weekend.
In all, firefighters are counting the weekend a success. Most of their work was on educating people about the dangers of illegal fireworks whenever they found them, O’Connor said.
Most of the fireworks taken were aerial devices, such as mortars, which shoot up into the air and have the potential to be a bomb on the ground if they explode, he said. They can be purchased in Wyoming, Idaho, Nevada or Arizona and smuggled into the state.
“Because of the nature of our environment, with the annual grasses and a lot of fuel, it’s a lot more dangerous here,” O’Connor said. “That’s what people don’t understand. Is it worth the potential of burning your neighbor’s house down?”
