Resident says Kern County’s enforcement of illegal fireworks is ineffective, urges new approach

Lisa Smith, a resident who said she lives in Supervisor Flores’ district, told the Kern County Board of Supervisors on June 3 that current enforcement of illegal fireworks is ineffective and urged changes to county code and enforcement practices.

Smith said residents placed about 3,000 calls reporting fireworks on July 4 and asked the county to check how many electronic reports accompanied that volume of calls. “Whatever that was, you got 24 citations that are voluntarily paid or go to collection. That's it,” she said. Smith criticized the code’s enforcement standard, saying a fire official must witness violations before a citation can be written and that the county’s administrative citation system lacks teeth because violators “only have to pay if they want to.”

She suggested the county consider hiring retired law enforcement officers to patrol the most problematic neighborhoods on key nights such as Independence Day and proposed using reserve funds she described as “the 25,000 you're holding in that bank account” to fund enforcement without a new measure.

Smith said, “Your press conferences and hollow warnings and current strategies don't work. I'd like to start with a better law.” No board action on fireworks enforcement was taken during the afternoon session; Smith’s remarks were delivered during the public presentations portion of the meeting.

Clarifying details captured in Smith’s comments included the claim of roughly 3,000 calls during a single holiday period, a report of 24 resulting paid citations, a reference to a $25,000 county account that the speaker suggested could be used for enforcement and a concern that county code requires a fire official to witness violations before a citation may be issued.