illegal fireworks

Getting caught setting off an illegal firework this holiday in Turlock could be akin to taking a $100 bill and setting it on fire.

A fine for setting an illegal firework can start at $100 and can go up to $500, said Turlock Fire Department spokesman Capt. Jason Bernard. Each violation carries a fine, so a person can get multiple violations depending on the circumstances, including if the person is a repeat offender.

It's questionable, however, if the fines are enough of a deterrent because over the last few weeks, and especially the last couple of days, illegal fireworks have been setting the night sky aglow all over Turlock. Between Tuesday and Thursday, the Turlock Police Department logged 19 calls for fireworks violations and those are just the ones that were reported.

Continue Reading on Turlock Journal

The loud pops of illegal firecrackers and the occasional launching of illegal aerial fireworks has already begun and yet the Fourth of July holiday season is still weeks away. But Ceres Police are drumming up a public relations campaign in hopes of minimizing community disturbances from anything that explodes or leaves the ground.

Earlier this year the Ceres City Council handed police another tool to crackdown on possession and/or detonation of illegal firework devices – an increase in the fine from $1,000 to $2,500 per violation.

“If you are found to be igniting the fireworks, or allowing it to happen from your home, you will be issued a citation,” said Ceres Police Department spokesman Sgt. Keith Griebel.

Continue Reading on The Ceres Courier