100+ illegal fireworks calls but no citations issued in Santa Maria

Santa Maria police say they’ve received at least 110 reports of illegal fireworks violations just this weekend.
    
Officers respond to the calls when they can but usually don’t find anything.
    
So far, police have not confiscated any fireworks or handed out any tickets, but they are reminding people to be careful.

"With public service announcements, we’ve given out pamphlets, fliers, but at the end of the day, unfortunately, we still have a problem with it so we encourage them not to light the fireworks until the 4th of July and then, again, we want them to use safe and sane fireworks only," said Lt. Jesse Silva, Santa Maria Police Department.

Safe and sane fireworks can only be set off in Santa Maria from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. on Wednesday, July 4. The penalty for setting off fireworks illegally in Santa Maria is a $1,000 fine.

The city’s illegal fireworks hotline is (805) 925-0951, ext. FIRE (3473).