Fire fighters spend 4th of July responding to at least 30 fires in Contra Costa

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA (July 5, 2022) —Instead of celebrating the 4th of July holiday, fire fighters in Contra Costa spent a busy night responding to at least 30 fires.

Investigators confirmed that fireworks caused 9 of these. Most of the others likely also originated from fireworks but haven’t been confirmed. Many of the fires happened in back yards and involved grass, fences and exterior structures. A palm tree went up in flames.

A Concord resident said that neighbors on 3 sides of their home spent several hours shooting off large and loud — and illegal — fireworks. “I thought about calling the hotline to report them, but I figured why bother? If it was this bad at my house, they will probably be overwhelmed with calls already.”

CON FIRE implemented extraordinary staffing measures to ensure proper responses during the night of “preventable fires caused by illegal fireworks.”