Hollister Police sees more service calls during 4th of July fireworks enforcement period

HOLLISTER, Calif. (KION-TV)-- From July 1st to July 5th Santa Cruz Regional 9-1-1 received 201 calls for fireworks hazards within Hollister, according to police.

As the week progressed, the number of calls increased from 9 to 25 to 35 to 132 as the week progressed. Police said that many calls were vague, and due to the sheer number, they could not respond to all calls as they came in.

Forty-four citations were issued during the enforcement period. This increased from last year when police issued 31 citations over 160 calls to service.

"At one point, we committed significant resources to assist with evacuations at the scene of a vegetation fire that threatened homes and had to pull Animal Control resources from our July 4th fireworks operation to handle a multitude of animal complaints that we received," said police.