Newport Beach fields high volume of calls about illegal fireworks on the Fourth of July

The Fourth of July was not without fireworks this year in Newport Beach, but not all of them were legal.

Newport Beach police said Wednesday that they responded to 69 calls for service related to fireworks on Sunday.

Exempting the fireworks show at the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort, which is supported by the city, fireworks are illegal in Newport Beach.

This includes “safe and sane” fireworks, which include fountains, sparklers, snap caps and other small fireworks that don’t leave the ground. Those are legal in the state of California and in some neighboring cities such as Costa Mesa and Huntington Beach.

Parts of Newport Beach is designated as a very high fire hazard severity zone by state department of forestry and fire protection.

Heather Rangel, a spokeswoman for the department, said in June that all Newport Beach police would work on Independence Day and that there would be extra patrols throughout the weekend. Additional outside agencies were also offering their assistance through what Rangel said is the busiest holiday weekend.

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