Northern California residents to be ‘wildly surprised' by massive illegal fireworks fines in the mail
Northern California skylines lit up Friday night with big, bright, and illegal fireworks. Despite stern warnings from law enforcement about fines and even possible jail time, there seemed to be no shortage of illegal fireworks going off throughout the night and into Saturday morning.
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'A lot of people are going to be wildly surprised when they get massive fines in the mail,' Sacramento Fire Department Captain Justin Sylvia told FOX40.com on Saturday.
While residents were shooting colorful explosives into the sky, law enforcement was driving around in unmarked vehicles and flying drones over known hotspots for illegal activity. This tactic was also used last year, but this time around, penalties are drastically different, according to SFD. Instead of being fined per illegal fireworks occurrence, violators are now fined per lit firework.
Northern California police warn of $1,000 fine per illegal firework amid Fourth of July holiday
'What may have been a $1,000 fine for one occurrence last year could now be $30,000 because you lit off so many,' Sylvia said.
Fines are mailed to the homeowner, regardless of who lit the fireworks. Because of the Social Host Ordinance in Sacramento, the homeowner is responsible for all activities that happen on their premise. If the person who sets off illegal fireworks is renting or even just visiting, the homeowner will receive the fines.
Police seize nearly 2,000 pounds of illegal fireworks, explosives in Northern California
'Homeowners around Sacramento might be issuing eviction notices,' Sylvia said.
SFD said it is still reviewing surveillance footage, but has around 60 citations in the works. The citations, so far, total hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.
'If you think you got away with it, you probably didn't,' Sylvia said. 'It's probably captured on video, so expect a very large fine coming your way.'
Another Northern California agency, the Woodland Fire Department, is known to send out illegal fireworks citations after Independence Day has passed. Last year, the agency reviewed reports from the Nail Em App, which is an anonymous platform that community members can use to report their neighbors for illegal fireworks use.
'For those that we didn't have the pleasure of meeting in person on the 4th in action, you've got mail on the way,' WPD said during last year's operation. 'The bottom line is, we heard the overwhelming majority of our community loud and clear, they do not want to hear or see illegal fireworks.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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