Fines, jail possible for illegal Fourth of July fireworks users in Tulare County

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As the Fourth of July approaches, fire departments across Tulare County are once again reminding people that only 'Safe and Sane Fireworks' are legal and that anyone caught using illegal fireworks will face fines and potential jail time.
Nine fire departments in the county issued a joint press release on June 17 to announce this year's countywide public safety campaign, 'Think Twice. Light Illegal Fireworks, Pay the Price.' The release stated that anyone caught using illegal fireworks could 'face fines starting at $1,000 or more and could also face jail time.'
Fines for using illegal fireworks in the city of Tulare are even higher.
'The fine structure for the city of Tulare is the first offense is $2,000, a second offense is $3,000, and the third offense is $4,000,' Tulare Fire Marshal Ryan Leonardo said. 'That is on a three-year window, so if you have multiple violations in a three-year window, then you are subject to having the increased fine amounts assessed towards you.'
Illegal fireworks include mortars, bottle rockets, firecrackers and multi-shot devices, which fire departments also refer to as 'cakes.'
'It's the big boxes,' Leonardo said. 'You light one fuse and it may have 25 shots, 50 shots, over 100. Once you light one fuse, you can't stop it and that firework just continues to fire.'
While most people enjoy celebrating Independence Day, to fire department officials the holiday is always a challenge.
'Every year, we are a very busy department,' Tulare County Fire Chief Charlie Norman said. 'It seems like from 8 p.m. to about 2 a.m., we run between 55 and 60 calls for service on the Fourth of July, with most of those being fireworks-related fires – grass fires, vegetation fires, and structure fires.'
'Our resources get taxed very quickly around this time of year because of the heavy fire danger and fire potential that comes from not only illegal fireworks, but safe and sane fireworks,' Visalia Fire Marshal Corbin Reed said. 'Last year, we had four separate fire calls with active fires at the same time, with five structures involved at those fires.
'It really puts a tax on our department, especially when typically one structure fire can deplete most of our resources throughout the community, so we end up having to call in additional resources from neighboring jurisdictions, which then places a big burden on them because those resources then aren't available in their communities,' he added.
'During those fires, other types of calls don't just stop,' he said. 'Just because we have a structure fire going on doesn't mean that heart attack calls don't happen or vehicle accidents don't happen.
'If we have all of our resources tied up on a grass fire caused by misuse of legal or illegal fireworks and somebody's having a heart attack, whoever caused that fire is taking those resources away from somebody that actually needs our help,' he said.
Norman added that veterans and pets also suffer undue stress during the Fourth of July holiday.
'We have a couple of dogs and cats and usually I look under the furniture to find them on July 5,' he said.
Fire departments in the county expect to increase their use of drones this year to help stop the use of illegal fireworks.
'We're always exploring new ways of combating them in our community,' Reed said. 'We're partnering once again with the Visalia Police Department. We're exploring heavier use of drones throughout the community. There's several communities around that have been successful with drone usage, so we're starting to explore that once again as well.
There will also be teams of fire and police staff patrolling the streets to spot illegal fireworks, according to Reed.
'We have plans to utilize drones as well,' Leonardo said about the Tulare City Fire Department. 'We will try to use whatever available technology we have available to the city.'
Tulare County Fire Department may also use drones.
'We do have some drones, but normally most of the stuff we see and we engage in are in-progress calls, so there really isn't a need for drones,' Norman said. 'Obviously, if we have something that we need to take a look at, we can do that, but most of the things that we're having in the evening are in-progress calls.'
Fire departments always have more people on duty for the holiday.
'We will have increased patrol and enforcement during the holiday weekend,' Leonardo said. 'We have a great partnership with the Tulare Police Department, so we will be partnering with Tulare PD with increased enforcement during that holiday weekend.'
More: California police round up illegal fireworks by the ton ahead of Independence Day
'We want the same things,' Norman said. 'We want you to have a good time, but we want to make sure you're safe in the process.'
Leonardo and Reed agreed.
'We just want to remind everybody to celebrate safely, use only safe and sane fireworks, and to dispose of them properly,' Reed said. 'At least one of our fires last year was caused by improper disposal of fireworks where they took fireworks that had just been ignited, they threw them in their trash can, and then it burned the trash can which was up against the house.
'Those types of things don't need to happen if people would soak their fireworks for 24 hours in a bucket after they've used them before they throw them away, then make sure that they're nice and cool and fully extinguished before throwing them away,' he added.
Leonardo encouraged residents to support local clubs and nonprofits that sell legal fireworks. There are 16 firework booths in Tulare.
'All of the booths are run by nonprofit organizations that benefit the community of Tulare so we would encourage folks to go to those booths," he said. "You know that if you're buying from the booth, you are getting California legal, safe and sane fireworks."
There is another even safer way to celebrate the holiday, according to Norman.
'The best thing from the fire department standpoint is go to a public show,' he said.
'Most of our injuries from fireworks-related stuff are to children,' Reed said. 'Making sure that your kids are well supervised by an adult who is keeping an eye on them is crucial. The last thing we want to see is a kid trying to enjoy their sparklers burn their hands.
'Another thing that we always try to point out to people is make sure you're supervising your kids, not allowing them to be reckless with fireworks,' he said. 'Teach them safety so they don't get hurt.'
One child has already been seriously hurt this year.
The Tulare County Sheriff's Department reported that on June 23 at about 6:30 p.m., a 12-year-old boy suffered major injuries that may result in the loss of his right hand after lighting an illegal firework. The boy's mother now faces multiple charges, including child endangerment.
To report illegal fireworks in unincorporated parts of the county, call the Tulare County Sheriff's Department at [phone].
The Visalia Fire Department's dedicated illegal fireworks reporting line is [phone].
The city of Tulare advises people to call 911 to report any illegal fireworks usage.
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This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Fines, jail possible for illegal fireworks users in Tulare County