Concord police are stepping up patrols and encouraging people to report illegal fireworks.
Police said they’re stepping up patrols in neighborhoods with the highest complaints and have set up a way for residents to report illegal fireworks through the Concord Connect app.
"With our dry conditions, there are no safe and sane fireworks," Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Marshal Chris Bachman said. "Not only are they illegal, you’re putting your community at risk."
Contra Costa Fire said they responded to 79 fireworks-related incidents last Fourth of July weekend, including a house that caught fire after a firework landed in the backyard.
This past April, a 14-year-old Pleasant Hill boy lost part of his hand when he found a firework that had been discarded near his school.
"Please leave the fireworks to the professionals," Bachman said. "If you see illegal fireworks going off in your community, all of the cities have different avenues in which you can report them."
Mike Rhoe said as soon as the sun goes down, the sound of fireworks fills his Concord neighborhood, sending his dog into a frenzy and sparking his fear of a fire starting.
"I worry about it because what if they lit your roof on fire or the grass in your neighborhood here on the hills all around us," he said. "It’s a fire hazard."
Rhoe said he appreciates the stepped up efforts. He said the problem seems to get worse every year.
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"The illegal ones, the large Roman candles, the big boom ones I’m hearing more and more of them," he said.
