California state AG refuses to crack down on illegal fireworks causing wildfires, damage

[Leroy N. Soetoro]

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/california-officials-refuse-crack-down-
illegal-fireworks-causing-wildfires-damage

California Attorney General Rob Bonta's office has declined to take action
in response to requests from several cities to enforce the state's
fireworks possession laws.

In June, three California municipalities — Sacramento, San Jose and Santa
Clara — penned letters to the California Department of Justice, urging the
agency to crack down on illegal fireworks trafficking coming from out of
the state, namely Nevada, and potentially out of the country.

Bonta's office, though, hasn't taken the requested actions, instead
responding only to confirm it had received the cities' requests.

"We certainly have seen an increase in the use of illegal fireworks," Don
Nottoli, chairman of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, told Fox
News Digital in an interview. "That's backed up by the calls for service.
The fire departments have tracked some of this."

"The potential for fire — I think the heightened awareness about that,
obviously — the drought, also massive fires in forest areas of our
wildland areas of our state. The parkway certainly is not immune to fire,
either," he continued, adding that traffickers have shipped large
quantities of fireworks into the state using large moving trucks.

Nottoli wrote to Bonta on behalf of the Sacramento Board of Supervisors on
June 6, asking the attorney general to more aggressively prosecute the
illegal fireworks trade. The letter asked Bonta to notify more than a
dozen sellers in Nevada, where much of the fireworks have originated, that
they may not unlawfully supply, import or facilitate unlawful fireworks
trafficking into California.

Officials in San Jose and Santa Clara made similar requests to the
attorney general, according to letters shared with Fox News Digital.

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"I urge you to exercise your authority to help protect all Californians
against the importation of illegal fireworks from the State of Nevada,"
Cindy Chavez, a Santa Clara County supervisor, wrote to Bonta on June 22.

"I respectfully request your office immediately notify the following
Nevada fireworks stores, and their principals and/or owners, that if these
stores are found to be supplying or facilitating the importation of
illegal fireworks … your office will prosecute those businesses to the
fullest extent of the law," Chavez added.

Sarah Zarate, director of the San Jose Office of Administration, Policy
and Intergovernmental Relations, told Bonta in a separate letter dated
June 28 that the sale of illegal fireworks "has reached epidemic
proportions."

The California Department of Justice responded saying safety was
important, but declined to take further action.

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Weeks after Nottoli's letter, Special Assistant Attorney General Michael
Redding responded on behalf of Bonta, saying safety was the attorney
general's "top priority," but that it wasn't the agency's policy "to send
letters to anyone alerting them to the contents of the California Penal
Code."

In addition, a spokesperson for San Jose's city manager said Bonta's
office responded only to confirm receipt of the original letter after the
city sent a follow-up.

"In July, the City of San Jose followed up with Attorney General Bonta’s
office to see if they had a response to the initial letter," the
spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "They did not, aside from saying that
they received and appreciated the letter."

In response to a request for comment, Bonta's office declined, citing an
ongoing investigation.

Certain types of fireworks — including skyrockets, bottle rockets, Roman
candles, firecrackers and fireworks that "explode, go into the air, or
move on the ground in an uncontrollable manner" — are banned under
California state law. It is illegal to sell, transport or use such
fireworks.

"Illegal fireworks are illegal for a reason," Nathan Hochman, the
Republican candidate running to unseat Bonta, told Fox News Digital in an
interview. "The attorney general has been put on notice that this is a
large and growing problem of Californians."

"Attorney General Bonta, like he has done on many different issues ranging
from human trafficking to fentanyl poisonings, has stayed mute or is
missing in action, or gives good press conferences then takes no concrete
steps to address the problem," he continued. "If given the chance to be
the attorney general, we would front-burner this issue."

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Hochman, who previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney in California
and an assistant attorney general during the Bush administration, added
that it was hypocritical for Bonta to make climate change a priority while
looking the other way on the illegal fireworks trade.

Fireworks have sparked wildfires, widespread damage and caused air quality
issues across California, according to multiple media reports.

"Each year we have hundreds of fires caused by fireworks, many of which
are wildfires," Daniel Berlant, deputy director of the California
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's community wildfire
preparedness and mitigation unit, told Fox News Digital.

Berlant added that he was concerned about the proliferation of illegal
fireworks in the state.

In 2020, fireworks at a Los Angeles gender reveal party caused a massive
wildfire spanning more than 20,000 acres and killing one firefighter,
while a 2021 incident involving fireworks in Vallejo sparked a large brush
fire. Fire officials have previously blamed fireworks on hundreds of fires
and millions of dollars in property loss from wildfires in California.

Across the U.S., fireworks sparked more than 17,000 outside fires,
according to the National Fire Protection Association.


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