SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — Thousands of pounds of illegal fireworks taken off the streets Thursday.
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office and Sacramento Metro Fire said their joint effort seized nearly 8,000 pounds of illegal fireworks and $30,000 in cash believed to be from the sale of the fireworks.
“We received an anonymous web tip about someone selling illegal fireworks. We had a search warrant served over here on Emory Court.” said Sgt. Amar Gandhi, spokesperson for the sheriff’s office. “These are really big, commercial grade and they are coming in from all over.”
He told ABC10 the fireworks were purchased out of state and from other countries. The Sacramento Sheriff’s Office said they also recovered five illegal firearms.
Metro Fire is reminding the public to only purchase from authorized firework booths and only use safe and sane fireworks this Fourth of July.
“The only legal fireworks in California are safe and sane fireworks,” said Metro Fire Battalion Chief Parker Wilbourn.
If not handled properly or bought from the right source, fireworks could be dangerous.
“We want people to have fun but also do it safe,” said Wilbourn. “Metro Fire, on average, runs about 300 calls a day for service and we can triple that on the Fourth of July”
Only adults should light fireworks, not children, for their safety. Proper disposal is also important. Metro Fire said after use, wait until the firework cools down and then submerge it in water in a metal bucket for 24 hours before disposing of it. Don’t put it into your trash can right away because it could catch fire and spread to your home or other areas.
Metro Fire said fireworks can only be purchased from noon June 28 to 9 p.m. July 4. Safe and Sane fireworks can only be used between the hours of 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. during this time period.
Emergency responders will be busy on Fourth of July, both responding and citing people for illegal use. Metro Fire said only use 911 for life-threatening emergencies and report illegal firework use at reportfireworks@saccounty.gov or call the sheriff’s nonemergency number.
