In Stanton, an effort to crack down on illegal fireworks on the Fourth of July by using unmanned drones appears to have paid off: The city issued nearly $1 million in illegal fireworks fines, including one $300,000 citation, officials confirmed.
Stanton drones reportedly captured $929,000 worth of illegal firework violations, involving 18 citations between July 2 and July 5, according to Stanton City Manager Hannah Shin-Heydorn. The city rolled out a Fourth of July drone program this year to catch and fine those engaging in illegal firework activity following the passage of a spring ordinance.
At one property, 300 illegal fireworks allegedly were discharged between 6:52 p.m. and 10:10 p.m. on July 4, per a now-deleted photo posted on Reddit of the costly citation, with each violation carrying a $1,000 fine. The $300,000 citation is the largest illegal firework citation by far, Shin-Heydorn said.
The Southern California News Group requested a copy of the citation that would include details of the $300,000 citation, and where exactly it occurred and who was involved. But Stanton officials said they could not publicly release the document, claiming it first needs to be reviewed by a lawyer and necessary redactions must be made.
Verifying each captured instance of illegal firework activity is a lengthy process, said Shin-Heydorn, requiring minute-by-minute review. Citations are later mailed to the property owner, under the city’s social host ordinance, and owners have the option to appeal.
“This really wasn’t about the citation amount,” Shin-Heydorn said. “The council for many, many years has been concerned about the use of illegal fireworks. And I think we’ve seen so many unnecessarily bad things happen in communities.”
In neighboring Buena Park, eight-year-old Jasmine Nguyen of Anaheim was killed by an illegal firework explosion on the Fourth of July.
“We’re really trying to send across a message about how serious of an issue this is, right? I mean, yes, on the one hand, it sounds like a large number, but when you read our ordinance and you realize they had to discharge, sell, or store 300 individual illegal fireworks in a community that is highly dense with properties right next to each other and crowds in the street and you realize what they were willing to risk, I think that helps put into perspective,” Shin-Heydorn said.
So, what’s going to happen with all that citation money? Under a state health code, 65% of the collected money will go to the State Fire Marshal. The rest, Shin-Heydorn said, will go to the city’s general fund to offset the costs associated with the drone program.
Stanton officials hope the program, and resulting citations, deter residents from sparking up illegal fireworks going forward.
“We have senior apartments, we have people with post-war syndrome, we also have animals. … So, over the years, it’s been very disturbing for the quality of life for everyone,” said Stanton Mayor David Shawver.
Stanton’s illegal firework drone deterrence program is planned to continue into next year.
“In an ideal world, nobody’s using illegal fireworks and no citations have to be issued in the future,” Shin-Heydorn said.