SANTA CRUZ COUNTY — County officials had their hands full during the Fourth of July celebrations, setting up barricade fences and maintaining street watch, as thousands of people flocked to the Pacific shore, area parks and the Watsonville Municipal Airport to take in both legal and illegal fireworks shows.
Watsonville Police Sgt. Brian Ridgway said his department had 141 calls for service, which was down from 160 in 2016.
“We had 51 calls for illegal fireworks, which was down from last year at 75,” Ridgway said. “The fireworks show at the airport was a huge success and we’re happy with that. It was a good crowd.”
Rudy Lopez, division chief and fire marshal for the City of Watsonville, said he found the Fourth to be “mellow.”
“We got a few calls for small grass fires, but they were small and not a big deal,” he said. “The main thing is that there were no injuries that were reported; we got through it and that’s a good thing.”
Meanwhile, the Santa Cruz Police Department provided 100 percent full-staffing for proactive and preventative enforcement of the citywide Safety Enhancement Zone.
“This Fourth of July holiday falling on a Tuesday brought slightly smaller crowds to the Main Beach and throughout the City of Santa Cruz,” said Joyce Blaschke of SCPD. “Traffic was steady and at times gridlocked coming into town during the weekend and Fourth of July.”
SCPD responded to 467 calls for service on Tuesday with 104 firework-related events.
