City addresses fireworks concerns: Yuba City council approves changes to limit sale, use of fireworks

Apr. 19—After receiving several complaints in recent years and dealing with "significant issues" related to fireworks and their use within the city, the Yuba City City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved changes to the city's Municipal Code to limit the sale and use of fireworks for personal use.

The city said that while the current code did have some regulations in place, based on community feedback, more stringent measures were needed. To address what has become a growing problem in the area, especially for those with pets and others dealing with issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the council approved a recommendation to establish a new time period in which the sale and purchase of "Safe and Sane" fireworks can occur.

According to the new code, the sale and purchase of these types of fireworks must be from noon to 11 p.m. on June 28 and from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. from June 29 to July 4.

Along with changes regarding the sale of Safe and Sane fireworks, the timeframe that the public is allowed to use the fireworks also was changed. With the new changes, the discharge of these types of fireworks within city limits will only be allowed from noon to 11 p.m. each day between June 29 and July 4. Previously, there was no defined end date for when fireworks could be used. Citations regarding the sale or use of Safe and Sane fireworks will remain at up to $500 per violation.

Changes to the city's code also now state that the public will not be allowed to use "dangerous" fireworks as defined by state law. Safe and Sane fireworks are any fireworks that haven't been classified as "dangerous" or "exempt." According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), the state of California has zero tolerance for the sale and use of illegal fireworks. Illegal fireworks include: — Sky rockets — Bottle rockets — Roman candles — Aerial shells — Firecrackers — Other fireworks that explode, go into the air, or move on the ground in an uncontrollable manner

Those found violating the city's new regulations regarding "dangerous" fireworks could be charged with a misdemeanor and face a fine of $1,000 per violation.

Another major change to the code specifies that the public is prohibited from discharging Safe and Sane fireworks within 10 feet of a residence. During the Fourth of July holiday in 2022, the Yuba City Fire Department responded to three structure fires, three dumpster fires, five vegetation fires and at least one rubbish fire that were all possibly caused by fireworks or Fourth of July celebrations, Yuba City Fire Chief Jesse Alexander previously said.

Alexander previously told the Appeal that much of the activity the department responded to last year occurred on the night of July 4 and into the next morning between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m.

"Yuba City Police Department was out in huge force, but it's everywhere," Alexander said on July 5, 2022, in relation to the amount of activity that was happening in Yuba City on July 4, 2022. "You look at the call log and you look at the PD and they were backed up with complaints. It's overwhelming for public safety. Working three structure fires pretty much at the same time, you're depleting pretty much everything."

Because the department was stretched so thin responding to fires, Alexander said it posed a risk to the community "when you're tied up on these types of fires."

"You don't have the resources," he previously said. "Fortunately we didn't have people trapped in vehicles or other emergencies."

Alexander confirmed at the time that the three structure fires that displaced 13 people were caused by Safe and Sane fireworks.

"The actions of dealing with fireworks have significant consequences," Alexander previously said. "There are 13 people who didn't have a home to go to. We were fortunate nobody was hurt, but they have consequences."

Michelle Brazil, with the Yuba City Police Department, previously said the department received and responded to 150 calls for service related to illegal fireworks from July 1, 2022, through July 4, 2022.

"Our officers issued 18 illegal fireworks citations during the same time period," Brazil previously said in an email. "The police department also assisted the fire department on several of their structure fires over the weekend."

During Tuesday's city council meeting, officials stressed that many of the changes to the Municipal Code only relate to vendors who sell Safe and Sane fireworks and those that use them. Yuba City Fire Marshal Jesse Frias clarified that fireworks used for special events are permitted, professionally done and were "completely separate" from the code changes regarding Safe and Sane fireworks and the use of "dangerous" fireworks by members of the public.

Yuba City Mayor Wade Kirchner wanted to remind the public that the changes were not meant to "punish" those who sell or use fireworks responsibly. He did, however, say the issue regarding fireworks use in the city had "gotten out of hand."

"If you live anywhere in the city, on the Fourth of July, I live south of town and it's gotten out of hand where people with animals are leaving the area for the weekend or folks with PTSD or even the fires we had ... and I made the assumption that they were all illegal, and they weren't illegal," Kirchner said. "... This is not meant to punish those charities that make a good amount of money with their fireworks booths, this is not meant to punish them at all."

He said prior to coming on the council, that there was hope that the professional fireworks display in Marysville would lessen the use of fireworks in the city, but that appeared to not be the case.

Vice Mayor Shon Harris echoed Kirchner's assertion that the city was not out to penalize those who are responsible sellers and users of fireworks, but he felt the city had no choice but to make changes to the Municipal Code.

"It just has written all over it how we are punishing law-abiding people because of a bunch of clowns that want to take off with illegal fireworks around here, that's our main problem," Harris said. "So, we are kind of, in a way, punishing by curtailing when they can and can't buy them or light them off, but I do see the value in putting guardrails around the problem because it allows law enforcement to use that as a tool to take on those folks who choose to participate in dangerous behavior. ... I'm not in favor of punishing people who do well because of people who do bad. But, we're kind of at a loss here of what else to do. It's a step in the direction to help. If you look at the bigger picture, it's gonna hopefully give law enforcement some tools to do what we hope they're able to do. I am more than willing to try to figure out a way to give them even more tools to do so."