Was it the worst July 4 for illegal fireworks? Here’s what Sacramento fire officials saw

Fire agencies across the capital region were kept busy Tuesday as Sacramento-area residents celebrated America’s independence day.

Multiple fires and injuries were caused by fireworks, and The Sacramento Bee compiled data from several fire authorities to determine which areas were most affected.

Authorities confiscate an average of 250,000 pounds of illegal fireworks each year in California. Fireworks activity has surged, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office reported. Nearly 40% more fireworks disturbance calls were made to deputies in 2022 than in 2021 in the first five days of July.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District

The Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District serves more than 600,000 residents across Sacramento County and was quite busy.

Metro Fire dispatched units to 130 fires on Tuesday, according to district spokesman Capt. Parker Wilbourn. Wilbourn said Wednesday morning that the actual fires and types have yet to be tallied.

He said Metro Fire crews responded to four medical incidents for fireworks-related injuries.

A 6-year-old girl suffered minor burns to her leg, and a 44-year-old man suffered a severe explosive injury to his left hand while lighting illegal fireworks, Wilbourn said.

A 35-year-old man’s finger was cut off while lighting a “safe and sane” fountain that exploded, and a 49-year-old man endured shrapnel wounds and burns to his hands, abdomen and lower extremities from a mortar that exploded when he lit it, according to officials.

Arson investigators were also looking into a fire that occurred between two houses around 5 a.m. Wednesday on Faberge Way in Rancho Cordova, Wilbourn said. Whether or not fireworks were the cause is still under investigation, according to the district.

Wilbourn said it would take one or two weeks to determine how 2023 measured up to other years in terms of illegal firework use.

Sacramento Fire Department

The Sacramento Fire Department responded to 12 structure fires on July 4. At least one of them is being attributed to fireworks as of 2 p.m. Wednesday, according to Capt. Justin Sylvia, a spokesman for the department.

While other structure fires that day are under investigation or lack sufficient evidence, an exterior fire on the 3800 block of May Street in Del Paso Heights was caused by fireworks, Sylvia said.

He said a lot of the fire activity the department saw during the holiday came from the northern part of Sacramento, specifically units responded most to the Del Paso Heights and Arden neighborhoods.

Folsom Fire Department

Nick Lawlor, the Folsom Fire Department’s on-duty battalion chief Tuesday night, said the department received almost double the amount of calls on July 4 that it would on a regular Tuesday.

There were seven fires within the Folsom city limits during the national holiday, and all of them are suspected to have fireworks as a contributing factor, Lawlor said.

Authorities said there was one reported fireworks-related medical incident. Firefighters responded to a shopping center where a man sustained a traumatic blast injury to his hand from an M-80 on Greenback Lane around 11 p.m. The man was transported to the hospital.

Folsom and Metro Fire units responded to a one-acre vegetation fire suspected to be caused by fireworks around 8 p.m., officials said. The fire threatened an apartment complex, houses and an automotive parts store, according to Lawlor.

Crews encountered access issues but extinguished the fire in roughly 45 minutes, authorities said.

Cosumnes Community Service District Fire Department

The Cosumnes Community Service District Fire Department, which covers Elk Grove, Galt and surrounding southern Sacramento County communities, had 103 calls for service on July 4, according to Battalion Chief Kevin McLean, a spokesman for the department.

The department responded to 14 fires, six of which McLean said cited fireworks as a possible cause.

Officials said there were 49 medical aid calls, however none involved fireworks.

Other capital fire agencies

▪ The West Sacramento Fire Department responded to 20 calls regarding fire between 12 p.m. Tuesday and 6:30 a.m. Wednesday.

▪ The Woodland Fire Department responded to seven fires between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Tuesday.

▪ The Davis Fire Department responded to three reports of fire Tuesday, the first occurred 12 hours apart from the other two, which came in after 11 p.m.