Seaside Police add more changes to reduce illegal fireworks ahead of Fourth of July
SEASIDE, Calif. (KION) - Seaside has new rules and more tools to prevent illegal fireworks from being sparked in the city.
This includes a small army of drones that'll fly high during the fourth of July.
"Those are very key because we can watch who's setting off illegal fireworks, which houses are going to, and we're able to follow up and find out who that person was and issue citations from there," said Commander Matthew Doza with the Seaside Police Department.
Police added two drones from last year, bringing their total to six.
Beyond that, there are new rules about lighting fireworks on Independence Day:
- No fireworks after 10 pm
- No parking on General Jim Moore Blvd.
- $1,000 fine or misdemeanor
Seaside police say safe and sane fireworks are okay. Last year – the SPD says one person was injured, 9 arrests, 63 citations,, and 73 pounds of illegal fireworks were confiscated.
Over in Monterey, no fireworks are allowed on the Fourth of July, not even safe and sane fireworks.
"There's a lot of fire danger. We live in a city that is surrounded by trees. And, we all understand that we can go through periods of no rain, and that increases the fire risk. And fireworks only add to that risk," said Lt. Jake Pinkas with the Monterey Police Department.
People in Seaside can vote on whether safe and sane fireworks should be legal in Seaside on the November ballot.
Both police departments say they will be fully staffed, with Seaside dedicating officers to crack down on illegal fireworks.
"We're going to have two dedicated firework enforcement teams, separate from patrol. And that's going to be their whole focus is enforcing fireworks," said Doza.
The use of safe and sane fireworks is prohibited now, but they will be okay to use from June 28th until July 5th.
The Seaside PD encourages you to call (831)394-6811 if you see or hear fireworks.
