Santa Maria fire chief reports no major July 4 losses; illegal-fireworks enforcement yields rise in citations and seizures

Fire Chief Brad Dandridge told the Santa Maria City Council on Aug. 5 that the Fire Department responded to 50 incidents in a 24-hour period on July 4, including 14 fire emergencies, and that quick deployment of an additional engine limited property loss.

“The addition of engine 6 to the city's deployment allowed our units to quickly and effectively extinguish those fires before they created a greater risk to the community,” Dandridge said. He told the council the department saw a 32% increase in call volume on July 4 and that the city recorded no major fire loss within its limits that day.

The department described coordinated enforcement against illegal fireworks with the Santa Maria Police Department that began June 30 and continued through the evening of July 4. Dandridge said the city contracted a third-party aircraft with video and GPS capability to monitor launches, allowing teams to geographically pinpoint activity and issue citations.

“It is estimated that approximately a 120 citations will be issued this year, nearly doubling the total from last year in 2024,” Dandridge said. He added the police and fire investigators executed an operation resulting in an arrest for the sale of fireworks and removal of over 150 pounds of illegal fireworks. Dandridge told the council that, cumulatively, confiscations have exceeded 6,000 pounds since 2022.

Dandridge praised department personnel for extra hours and sustained enforcement and said the department will continue education and enforcement efforts. “We will hold offenders accountable,” he said.

Dandridge also updated the council on the Gifford fire east of Santa Maria, which ignited Aug. 1. He reported the latest available figures at the meeting: about 83,932 acres burning with 7% containment, and that Santa Maria committed two engines and additional overhead assignments totaling nine personnel to the incident. Evacuation zones were identified in other parts of Santa Barbara and Santa Louis counties, but none were reported inside Santa Maria city limits at the time of the presentation.

The department said it will continue to monitor staffing and mutual-aid commitments to ensure adequate coverage for city response.