Cathedral City officials seized fewer illegal Fourth of July fireworks than ever before
Tori King
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. (KESQ)– Have you ever wondered what happens to all of the illegal fireworks that are confiscated by Police Departments on the Fourth of July?
According to Cathedral City Fire and EMS, they are collected by the Cathedral City Police Department and dropped off at Fire Station #2.
“Once the fireworks are seized from the homeowners, we transport them to the fire department,” said Nathaniel Hanley, a Police Commander with CCPD. “Because they have a safer place to store them than here at the police department, and they are more familiar with explosives and anything that can be flammable or spark a fire.”
From there, they are stored inside a safe room until CalFire is able to send a team to pick them up and destroy them.
This year, the pile of seized fireworks was the smallest its ever been.
“When I came in on Monday and looked at this, I was like, is this it,” Cathedral City Fire and EMS Chief Michael Contreras. “Because in previous years we had a lot more than this. And so it’s a good thing we had so little, it really means people are listening to the laws.” In year’s past, the amount of fireworks confiscated would fill several truck loads. This year, the tiny pile of mortars, sparklers, and fountains only fit inside a small trunk.
Officials, including Chief Contreras, believe the city’s aggressive and extensive marketing blitz all over town may have helped spread awareness of illegal firework prevention, as well as the consequences if caught with them in your possession.
“Our campaign that we put out on the bus stops, on the side of all Cathedral City vehicles, that completely focus on safety, it really paid off this year,” said Contreras. “Just says a lot to who we are as a city. We really focus on the safety of our people, and this is just an extension of that. We were successful this year, we’re probably going to have to step it up next year so that we continue to build a safe community.”
City leaders also credit the community with this year’s success, adding that residents made smart choices that kept their neighbors accountable, and their neighborhoods safe.
“In years past, we’ve had houses catch on fire, yards and trees catch on fire, and structures,” said Hanley. “This year we had none of that. So we’re extremely thankful to our community for listening.”