What are SLO County agencies doing about illegal fireworks? ‘It’s own version of warfare’
Sue Robinson has been at her wits end.
For weeks, someone had been setting off fireworks — which are largely illegal in San Luis Obispo County — by her pine-tree-surrounded house in Cambria, waking her up in the middle of the night multiple times.
But it wasn’t just her rest that Robinson was concerned about. She told The Tribune that the risk of a fire weighed heavily on her mind.
“Aside from the annoyance of being woken from a dead sleep, I am extremely concerned about the elevated risk of fire,” Robinson said. “Lower Burton Drive has tons of fallen trees and dried brush that has not been cleared for years and likely will not be cleared anytime soon. It would not take much for a spark to ignite a huge fire that could quickly spread to town or the neighboring homes.”
Robinson was not the only one concerned about the disturbance or fire risk from illegal fireworks in SLO County.
In a meeting June 19, Cambria resident Brynn Albanese had a friend read a letter to the North Coast Advisory Council detailing her concerns with illegal fireworks in the area.
In it, she described the impact of illegal fireworks as “its own version of warfare,” noting a specific instance on Father’s Day when she was woken up by the explosions.
“We were awakened at 3:41 a.m. by the loudest pops we have ever heard that physically blew in our blinds,” the letter said. “We thought that someone was trying to get into the house through our bedroom sliding glass door.”
It continued:
“We the homeowners of this neighborhood are not going to stop until this is taken care of and I am very afraid that someone will not take the legal route as I do, and will take matters into their own hands. That is how much anger there is about this subject.”
As Independence Day celebrations near, the concerns of others like Robinson and Albanese mounted.
They questioned what was being done to control the use of illegal fireworks in San Luis Obispo County and how law enforcement and other emergency responders regulate these incidents locally.
The Tribune set out to try to answer these questions as part of its Reality Check series.
Where are fireworks permitted in SLO County? What types are banned?
Regulations vary across San Luis Obispo County, though in general most types of fireworks are prohibited, with only a few exceptions.
Across the county, the use of sky lanterns or fireworks are illegal with exceptions for Safe and Sane fireworks in some areas and generally only on specific days.
In a post on Facebook, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office said Safe and Sane fireworks, which do not leave the ground, are legal in Arroyo Grande and Grover Beach, as well as the Oceano, Templeton and San Miguel fire districts.
The office reminded residents that in most locations, fireworks were only allowed to be used on certain dates and at limited hours.
In Oceano, there was no time limit, but in Templeton their use was restricted from June 18 at noon to midnight on the Fourth of July. San Miguel’s were allowed from July 1 to midnight on July 4.
Rocket-style fireworks that leave the ground were always prohibited, except in licensed permitted pyrotechnic fireworks displays. Those approved displays were expected to take place in Cayucos, Paso Robles, Pismo Beach and San Luis Obispo this year.
In the post, the office also warned residents that unless fireworks bear the seal of the California Fire Marshal, they could be dangerous and illegal.
Law enforcement ramps up patrols, adds drones to catch people with illegal fireworks
As the Fourth of July holiday approaches, law enforcement agencies across the county were adding extra patrols and warning the public about the use of illegal fireworks.
In a statement to The Tribune, SLO County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Tony Cipolla said agencies across the county had been working with Cal Fire arson investigators to respond to reports of illegal fireworks leading up to the holiday.
Cipolla noted that sworn peace officers within Cal Fire also have the ability to issue citations for the use of illegal fireworks.
In a news release June 26, the Paso Robles Fire Department said it was stepping up its enforcement this year and planned to use “aerial device technology with GPS and video capabilities to help us pinpoint the location where fireworks are being used.”
The department said people caught setting off illegal fireworks would face citations of up to $1,000.
Paso Robles Police Department Cmdr. Ricky Lehr told The Tribune that the department had received 54 calls for service involving fireworks as of Wednesday, but it had issued zero citations.
Lehr said that it can be difficult for officers to find the evidence needed to issue a citation.
In Grover Beach — often a hotspot for fireworks leading up to the holiday — the Police Department urged anyone who spotted or suspected the use of illegal fireworks in their neighborhood to report it to their local law enforcement.
In a Facebook post June 28, the Grover Beach Police Department said it would be “deploying additional personnel who will be looking for and enforcing the use of illegal fireworks.”
Those included increased patrols and air support, the department said.
To handle increased calls on the actual holiday on Thursday, Cipolla said the Sheriff’s Office added extra patrols and that it would collaborate with local police and fire departments to respond to those and other emergencies on Independence Day.
Cipolla also said that the county would employ the use of drones to spot illegal firework use on the holiday.
People found with illegal fireworks face a potential penalty of a misdemeanor citation and a $2,000 fine, according to a San Luis Obispo County news release in 2023. Incorrect use of Safe and Sane fireworks could result in a nearly $400 penalty.
Current fireworks protocols not working, residents say
Numerous people told The Tribune they felt that the enforcement of illegal firework use has been lackluster and that they were being persistently disturbed by the illegal explosives.
The distress was especially poignant from unincorporated areas of SLO County, where many residents said the use of illegal fireworks was on the rise.
“A friend in Oceano has to keep her windows closed at night because fireworks are going off constantly after dark,” San Luis Obispo resident Louie Baker said in a Tribune post on Nextdoor. “And there is a cloud of smoke just hanging around that she doesn’t want to breathe. That’s in addition to the aggravation of having to hear it all.”
One Baywood resident questioned whether there was any enforcement on the use of illegal fireworks in the area, saying there was “none, as best as I can tell.”
“In the Baywood Park area it sounds like a war zone,” Ron Stotz told The Tribune in an email. “Between the heavy fire at the vacant lots to the east of the Merrimaker, on First Street near the Bay, and at the Pasadena Street access area. These are not firecrackers, these are heavy duty mortar rounds.”
Cipolla told The Tribune that law enforcement does sometimes struggle to respond to incidents of illegal firework use because often by the time officers are able to get to a scene, the perpetrators have fled.
Cipolla said keeping up with the need for officers to respond to other emergency calls during the holiday also means that resources are spread thinner.
“We make every attempt to respond to calls regarding illegal fireworks,” he said. “The difficulty is that by the time law enforcement agencies or Cal Fire arrive on scene, in many of those cases, the perpetrators have already left the area. Additionally, we still have to respond to priority calls for service for other criminal acts and emergencies.”
How to report illegal fireworks
So how do you report it if someone is shooting off fireworks in your neighborhood?
In a news release Tuesday, the Arroyo Grande Police Department urged residents to call the non-emergency line to their local police department if they suspect the use of illegal fireworks and to report any emergencies or fires caused by explosives to 911.
The non-emergency lines for San Luis Obispo County agencies are:
Arroyo Grande Police Department: 805-473-5100
Atascadero Police Department: 805-461-5051
Grover Beach Police Department: 805-473-4511
Morro Bay Police Department: 805-772-6225
Paso Robles Police Department: 805-237-6464
Pismo Beach Police Department: 805-773-2208
San Luis Obispo City Police Department: 805-781-7312
San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department: 805-781-4540
