_{Thumbnail: Illegal fireworks on South Beach rivaled professional display Crescent City put on near the North Jetty in this July 4, 2018 photo | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews}

Crescent City Harbor commissioners on Wednesday broke off pursuit of an agreement with the county enabling them to levy fines aimed at curtailing illegal fireworks within their jurisdiction, taking advice from their harbormaster and, through him, the Del Norte County Sheriff.

Sheriff Garrett Scott said his deputies and officers from other agencies will still enforce state law prohibiting fireworks that explode, go into the air and move erratically on the ground this Independence Day. This includes citing and arresting anyone selling, displaying or possessing illegal fireworks in violation of the California Penal Code as well as confiscating dangerous fireworks.

He said he also wanted to see how his office handles enforcing Del Norte County’s new fireworks ordinance, which was established in October and also includes a fee structure.

“I didn’t want the harbor to get tied up in having to create MOUs and negotiations with the county just to get more enforcement at the harbor,” Scott told Redwood Voice Community News on Thursday.

Crescent City Harbormaster Mike Rademaker told commissioners that this would be the first year sheriff’s deputies would enforce the county’s ordinance.

Under the ordinance, those who sell, transport or use fireworks that explode, go into the air or move on the ground in an uncontrollable manner are subject to administrative fines of at least $1,000 for a first offense and up to $3,000 for repeat offenses.

“The sheriff is really concerned about this administrative fine structure that the county has implemented,” Rademaker said. “It’s their first year of doing it and they’re concerned about the cost of hiring an administrative hearing officer and how many citations are going to be issued — how is it going to work? They’re just cautious about taking on the harbor with their responsibility.”

Harbor commissioners had been working on establishing an ordinance since an explosion of illegal fireworks on South Beach sent 14 people to the hospital last Fourth of July. On March 12, two weeks after sending a draft ordinance based on a model law from the State Fire Marshal’s office back to staff to modify it, commissioners approved a resolution authorizing Rademaker to seek an MOU with Del Norte County.

That MOU would allow the sheriff’s office to enforce the county ordinance at the harbor, though commissioners removed a provision that would allow the Harbor District to retain revenue from any fines that were charged. 

On Wednesday, commissioners agreed to hold off on the MOU with the county, but would still charge a $5 fee to enter and park at the marina during the Fourth of July. Visitors will receive a parking pass to display on their rear view mirror with a reminder of what fireworks are illegal, Rademaker said.

“It’s really tough that we don’t have the resources financially and [staff] to do some real enforcement,” Rademaker said. “What we can do is have a massive education campaign. That is within our capabilities with the resources we have.”

On Thursday, Scott told Redwood Voice that CalFire and the California Highway Patrol will send law enforcement officers to Del Norte County. CalFire has committed five officers to patrol South Beach. They will also have personnel in the Klamath, Smith River, Gasquet and Hiouchi areas to be on the lookout for illegal fireworks there as well, Scott said.

Meanwhile the CHP will have 10 to 12 additional officers patrolling the 101 corridor along South Beach, Scott said. The sheriff confirmed Rademaker’s statement about waiting to see what Independence Day 2025 looks like in Crescent City before moving forward with administrative enforcement within the Harbor District.

As for outside the harbor, Scott said his deputies may enforce the county’s ordinance “but I don’t have any intention of veering off from California law.”

“You really want to go with state law as much as possible for these kinds of things,” he said.

At Wednesday’s Harbor District meeting, District 2 Supervisor Valerie Starkey, who is on a countywide committee to try to discourage people from bringing illegal fireworks into the community. That committee, which includes harbor and Crescent City officials, along with the sheriff and other law enforcement, will start a media campaign in May, Starkey said.

The committee’s California Highway Patrol representative has also promised to get the message out on social media outside of Del Norte County.

“I think the messaging we have to say is we’re not going to catch them all, we just want to alleviate some of the chaos that has been building for a lot of years around here,” she said. “The ordinances were one more measure in place in order to avoid illegal activity — give them a fine.”