No major fires sparked in Sonoma County by Fourth of July fireworks

Sonoma County authorities said they dealt with no significant fires or other issues sparked by household fireworks over the Fourth of July holiday.

“It went pretty smooth, pretty safe,” said Sebastopol Fire Chief Bill Braga, who hasn’t seen a major fire in Sebastopol caused by fireworks in the 35 years he has worked at the fire department.

The relatively calm holiday arrived amid a mix of anxiety and outrage voiced by many residents over the sale of fireworks nine months after the October wildfires destroyed thousands of local homes.

The cities that allow the sale of “safe and sane” fireworks - Sebastopol, Petaluma, Rohnert Park and Cloverdale - received a higher volume of complaints this year from residents fearful of fireworks sparking a fire. Those concerns did not play out this year, officials said.

“The safety record indicates that it doesn’t seem like we have a big problem, but I understand the level of anxiety people have over fireworks,” Sebastopol Mayor Patrick Slayter said. “I think that everyone is so much more aware and hypervigilant to fire hazard. It can’t help but be on people’s minds.”

Theresa Martinelli-Jones, 65, of Sebastopol, had a family member lose their home in the October wildfires. Despite the all-clear given Friday by authorities, she thinks that fireworks shouldn’t be sold any longer in Sonoma County.

“Does there have to be a precedent?” she said. “We shouldn’t take a risk of another fire. It’s scary as hell.”

Environmental activist Shepherd Bliss, 73, an Army veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress, also opposes fireworks sales. But he didn’t hear many on his dead-end street in Sebastopol.

“This was the quietest Fourth of July since I’ve been here in 1992,” said Bliss.

For many organizations, fireworks sales support the biggest fundraisers of the year. Anxiety over fires didn’t appear to hamper firework sales by much, nonprofit representatives said.

Brad Kaplan, executive officer of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadets Corps-PYRO Division, said fireworks sales at their Petaluma booth increased 15 percent this year from last year.

Kaplan reported gross sales were about $25,000, which nets about $5,000 toward Coast Guard training for youth.

“Our goal is to never have to turn a youth away because of financial need,” Kaplan said.

At the Gravenstein Lion’s Club booth at Safeway on Main Street in Sebastopol, fireworks sales decreased about 6 percent, according to the club’s president, Stan Ramodo.

Several cities around Sonoma County received more fireworks-related calls this the Fourth of July than in years past.

In an average year, Rohnert Park receives about 90 fireworks calls on the Fourth of July, according to 2012-2018 data. This year, there were 119 fireworks calls, Rohnert Park Fire Commander Mike Bates said.

There were eight small fires caused by fireworks in Rohnert Park on the Fourth of July, of which five were dumpster fires - on par with previous years, Bates said. Five citations were issued for illegal fireworks use, including one for possession of dangerous fireworks.

“In my opinion this was the worst year for illegal use of aerial fireworks. However, it proved difficult to catch the perpetrators,” Bates said.

In Petaluma, one citation was issued for illegal fireworks and no blazes were reported, Petaluma Fire Inspector Paula Dueweke said. Cloverdale Fire Department reported no fireworks citations and no fires caused by fireworks.

In Santa Rosa, there were reports of safe and sane fireworks - banned in Santa Rosa - and illegal aerial fireworks, which are banned in California.

“Police and Fire did respond to a significant volume of fireworks reports, which we anticipated because of the heighten concern of the community,” said Assistant Santa Rosa Fire Marshal Paul Lowenthal, who didn’t have immediate figures for calls and citations.

Illegal commercial-grade fireworks were spotted going off near the Sonoma County Fairgrounds, which puts on a sanctioned show. That is a typical problem for patrol teams during the holiday, Lowenthal said.

There was one trash can fire around 10:30 Wednesday night in Santa Rosa caused by a firework, and a small spot fire in the Roseland neighborhood on Liana Drive, which wasn’t confirmed to be caused by a firework, Lowenthal said.

“We could see it, we could hear it,” Lowenthal said. “It’s difficult to get to them when they actually do it.”

It was fortunate that humidity levels went up and there were cooler temperatures by the end of the day on the Fourth of July, he said.

Dan Tanner, 50, came back to his Rincon Valley home on Fourth of July after attending a friend’s party. He heard some fireworks set off in his neighborhood, but he said it was fewer than in years past. He was a bit annoyed over the ruckus from illegal fireworks, but he wasn’t scared.

“I know there was a major concern for fires, but people are overreacting a little bit about those safe and sane fireworks,” Tanner said.

You can reach Staff Writer Susan Minichiello at 707-521-5216 or susan.minichiello@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter@susanmini.