A Northern California homeowner who staged a large Fourth of July fireworks display using illegal explosives is now facing a staggering $100,000 fine.
Sacramento fire officials said crews documented numerous illegal fireworks being launched during an Independence Day gathering at a home in Del Paso Heights.
“We had drones in the sky and crews traveling around town,” Sacramento Fire Department Captain Justin Sylvia told The California Post.
“We watched them for quite a significant time. We sat there, watched and counted.”
According to Sylvia, crews also observed people at the property repeatedly unloading illegal explosives from a U-Haul trailer.
Video from the neighborhood captured a full aerial show, with burst after burst of colorful lights exploding overhead — the kind of display many people typically wait hours to watch from a carefully chosen viewing spot.
The unauthorized spectacle also drew plenty of attention online, where social media users quickly weighed in on the display.
“Del Paso Heights was lit up like Disneyland last night,” one person captioned their video on TikTok.
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“That’s cruel and unusual punishment.. ‘the punishment shall not exceed the crime’ and there’s no victim or damages. 100k is insane. It’s not about safety, it’s about revenue,” a second person wrote about the fine.
Many others wondered what kind of money a person would have to be able to purchase the amount of illegal explosives needed to set off so many.
“An entire hour long, above professional level presentation, including firework colors we had never seen before,” a person wrote on Instagram.
“I just kept wondering how they have MONEY like that.”
A total of 70 citations have been issued so far in the city, totaling a minimum of $300,000 in fines, and it’s just from the Fourth of July, officials said.
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Sylvia said he expects those numbers to increase, as this doesn’t count all the citations for illegal fireworks on July 2 and 3rd that were set off in the city.
In Sacramento, the first fine for illegal fireworks is $1,000, the second is $2,500, and the third is $5,000.
Every fine after that is issued for $5,000. In addition, there’s a $10,000 fine if the explosives are used around schools, parks or critical infrastructure.
Sylvia’s message to the community, “Don’t use illegal fireworks.”
He also said patrols from the sky will increase next year, going from two drones to four.
