Seaside Police says 1 injured, 9 arrested and 73 pounds of illegal fireworks confiscated

SEASIDE, Calif. (KION) - It was a busy night for Seaside Police and fire as they were trying to crack down on illegal fireworks Tuesday night.

You light it, we cite it. That's a slogan from the seaside police department, and they did practice what they preached Tuesday night.

Read more: Grand Jury Report shows Seaside’s efforts to reduce illegal fireworks to have had minimal effect

"Our enforcement efforts increased substantially and there was a reduction in fireworks," said Nick Borges, the Seaside Police Chief.

So far 9 people were arrested and 40 were cited, having to pay the $1,000 fine for sparking up fireworks.

Thankfully no homes caught on fire but other areas around town did.

"We responded to about 10 calls related to fires including rubbish dumpsters and garbage can fires," said Mary Gutierrez, the Seaside Fire Chief.

One injury was reported that night, a young boy around 13 years old.

"These accidents are the consequences of parents or adults being irresponsible," Silvio Gonzalez, a Seaside Resident.

Seaside Police says the injured boy is currently being treated for his injuries.

"I believe they're under the age of 13, was seriously injured, and is related to an illegal firework," said Nick Borges.

The police and fire department say they had a helping hand when it came to finding out who was lighting up the fireworks.

"This year we used some software programs that allowed us to in real-time map out specific areas where the drones were picking up fireworks. We were able to pin those specific locations and then deploy police officers to go and issue citations," said Borges.

According to Seaside police, 73 pounds of fireworks were confiscated.