Fire officials gear up to crackdown on illegal Fourth of July fireworks

Local officials are gearing up for the Fourth of July, now a month away, to prevent illegal fireworks.

Last year holds the record for illegal fireworks reports in the county, police said, and fire crews are working this year to prevent it from happening again.

In 2020, fireworks lit up the Coachella Valley night sky for days surrounding the holiday. "Last year was one of the highest numbers of illegal fireworks fires that we did respond to," said Capt. Nathan Gunkel with the Palm Springs Fire Dept.

He said last year, due in part to the pandemic, people turned to setting off fireworks themselves. "They went out and they go their own 'safe and sane,'" Gunkel said. "Untrained hands not knowing how to light off fireworks ... caused a lot of injuries."

Palm Springs Fire Preventionist Taylor Teeple said fireworks can be difficult to locate a point of origin for. That's why he said the city is increasing patrols.

"We'll have fire inspectors out patrolling with police units to try and catch those folks," Teeple said.

And the crackdown is happening countywide. This year, the Riverside County board of supervisors passed new regulations that more than double fines for illegal fireworks. Violators can be slapped with a $1,000 to $5,000 penalty.

But it's not just about the increased fire risk.

The Sheriff's Dept. reported 8,668 911 calls last year around the Fourth of July in relation to fireworks, with 80 people arrested.

Law enforcement officials said that's a strain on resources that could be needed in other places.

To prevent fires and keep first responders available for emergencies, fire crews said stick to legal fireworks only this year.

"We're hoping people stay safe, they respect the rules," Gunkel said.

Certain unincorporated areas of the county permit "safe and sane" fireworks, including Desert Hot Springs, Indio, Coachella and Blythe. That only includes fireworks, like sparklers, that don't shoot into the air.