4th of July Fireworks seized in Santa Ana during seasonal explosive crackdown

Santa Ana, CA--In Santa Ana, there is a time to be safe and sane when it comes to seasonal fireworks, but it it is always time to crackdown on seasonal explosives. With fines raised from $100 to $1000, the city means business when it comes to 4th of July fanatics.

The safer, allowable fireworks can be used from noon to 10 p.m. on July 1, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on July 2 and 3, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the Fourth of July.

“There are days you can use the 'safe and sane' fireworks in the city, and we have a fireworks show, but we have a no-tolerance policy on the illegal fireworks,'' Bertagna said.

The city this year hiked fines from about $100 to $1,000 in response to the use of fireworks, mostly obtained out of state and brought here, according to Santa Ana Police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.

During the crackdown, 300 pounds of illegal fireworks were seized, and two individuals received $1,000 fines as part of the city's policy on the seasonal explosives.

"People get (illegal fireworks) from Nevada or Arizona for about $40 to $50 a box and then sell them here for $80 to $90," Bertagna said. "Some get M80s from Mexico"

A demonstration in 2015 showed how dangerous the explosives can be, when authorities detonated a firework that looked like a quarter-stick of dynamite and it blew a six-inch hole in a door, Bertagna said.

“We're promoting the fact that we're going to be out there enforcing illegal fireworks,'' Bertagna said. “We get fires, we get people injured every year.''

City officials emphasized that “safe and sane'' fireworks are allowed on certain days before July 4 and on the holiday itself, Bertagna said. But there is a difference between those and illegal fireworks.