Seaside’s safe and sane fireworks curfew and enforcement started Saturday
Ata Shaheen
SEASIDE, Calif. (KION-TV) — Seaside Police say that fireworks around this time of year are some of the biggest problems throughout the city.
They say that they’re going after people who set them off by monitoring dozens of cameras and microphones set-up throughout the city, as well as with drones.
Police intending to catch each incident and track people down. They say that they’ve already responded to four calls for fireworks over the past 24 hours.
“The amount of the reports that we get of fireworks is actually overwhelming,” said Seargent Jon Martinez of the Seaside Police Department. “We put on a spare records clerk just to take in calls for fireworks and we don’t even have the ability to keep up with the computer. The computer actually gets overloaded with how many calls are coming in. On the 4th of July, we’re well into three, -400 calls that are coming in.”
The department has set up about 50 Flock cameras around the city, mainly to read license plates, but during this time of year they are also listening for “booms.”
Police saying that they can distinguish between a firework and a gunshot.
And, operators will be flying drones around to triangulate where said “booms” are coming from, then they said they’ll respond.
According to police, depending on the situation, people who launch illegal fireworks can get citations, infraction or even criminal charges.
This, with a new curfew starting June 28 on safe and sane fireworks — fireworks that do not go up into the air and those that can be purchased at any roadside firework stand.
The 10 p.m. curfew and safe and sane firework allowance happens simultaneously and will run through July 5.
After 10 p.m., all fireworks of any kind are illegal.