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Police, fire say July 4 enforcement reduced fireworks activity; city reports seizures and citations
Summary
Police and fire presented an after-action report on July 4 fireworks enforcement. Staff credited targeted letters, drone and ‘flock’ detection and increased patrols with lowering reports and seizures; council received the report and asked for continued outreach and improvements to hotlines and hotspot messaging.
Seaside public-safety officials told council Aug. 7 that a combination of proactive outreach, drone surveillance, sound-detection sensors and additional patrols produced lower fireworks complaints and effective enforcement during the July 4 period.
Police Chief Nick Borges said the department deployed 19 additional officers, eight drone pilots and increased use of Flock explosion-sound detection. The department mailed more than 130 warning letters to addresses in prior hot-spot areas and created an AI-based officer reporting tool to map calls and citations in real time. Borges reported 70 police citations for illegal fireworks and related violations, six arrests, and 85 pounds of fireworks confiscated; as of the council meeting, the city had collected 25 of the citations.
Fire Chief Paul Blaha outlined fire-department response numbers and said his crews handled eight fireworks-related fire calls during the July 4 week; animal control took multiple calls about frightened pets. Chief Borges noted one incident involving a loaded handgun found during an unrelated stop that resulted in an arrest.
Councilmembers and commenters praised the operation and asked staff to improve hotline messaging, streamline reporting and coordinate with large private parking- lot hosts (Home Depot was singled out) to reduce debris and concentrate safe activity. Staff recommended year-round signage in problem areas, earlier community notifications and better shuttle and parking coordination for large events.
Ending: Council received the report. Staff listed recommendations for next year including permanent signage, improved hot-line triage and targeted letters to prior hot spots; staff said they will return with an after-action follow-up if needed.
