BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Bakersfield Fire's arson unit and the Kern County Fire Department are working with the Bakersfield Police Department Vice and the Kern County Sheriff's Office to crack down on illegal fireworks sales and use through undercover operations that begin on social media marketplaces and extend through the holiday weekend.
Investigators find sellers listing illegal fireworks online, arrange a purchase, and arrest the seller when they show up to complete the transaction.
Bakersfield Fire Battalion Chief Chris Borden, who supervises the arson division, said the operation has already pulled more than 10,000 pounds of illegal fireworks off the streets — and one recent bust alone netted 5,000 pounds from an unexpected location.
"It wasn't in a location that you would have suspected. It was a very inconspicuous location, and we expected to find a minimal amount of fireworks and, lo and behold, here's 5,000 pounds or more of fireworks," Borden said.
He said the haul still represents only a fraction of what is circulating in the city.
"It's a drop in the bucket compared to what's coming into this town. It's too easy for people to get a hold of these and bring them in, sell them, distribute them," Borden said.
A coordinated effort years in the making
Kern County Fire Department Captain Andrew Freeborn, the department's public information officer, said the collaboration between agencies is not new, but this year the focus has shifted to ensuring the public knows about it.
"We need to do a better job of communicating to the public that we are taking this seriously. We are working together. We are working on doing undercover work to do buy busts to get illegal fireworks off the streets before they're even used in the first place," Freeborn said.
Enforcement began in May and ramped up through June. Borden said operations will not stop after the Fourth of July.
"Everyone's seen that this is becoming a year-round problem, and so we're going to attack it as a year-round problem from now on," Borden said.
179 extra personnel on duty
For July 3 and 4, Kern County Fire will have 179 additional personnel on duty — all on what would otherwise be their days off.
"That is all of those people that are not going to be home with their friends, their family, having a good time. Those are all coming back to work. It's their normal day off, and that's how much larger a response that we're having for emergency activity," Freeborn said.
Freeborn said that increased staffing also creates a greater opportunity for enforcement alongside partner agencies. He said he will personally be out on patrol on both the 3rd and the 4th, paired with a firefighter from the lake area who is also coming in on his day off.
"There's so much going on from trying to drive through the streets at night with all of the activity on the streets, listening to all of the radio traffic, following along on the computer, looking through where illegal reports are coming through on the online dashboard," Freeborn said.
He said last year, patrols came across fires that had not even been reported yet — multiple times in a single evening.
Freeborn said extra staffing will extend beyond Bakersfield to communities throughout Kern County.
Don't think you got away with it
Both Borden and Freeborn said residents should not assume that going unconfronted means going unpunished. Freeborn compared the approach to red light cameras.
"A lot of people run through traffic cameras, and they think, wow, I ran the red light, no big deal, and then they get a ticket in the mail, and then they realize, oh no, I didn't get away with it," Freeborn said.
"There's going to be a lot of that this year. There's going to be a lot of that, where an individual may not have a face-to-face conversation with someone, but they're still going to get a citation in the mail," Freeborn said.
Investigators are also monitoring social media comments, Facebook posts, and online marketplace listings — including cases where sellers advertise one thing but are actually selling fireworks. Tips submitted through an online reporting tool are also being used to investigate illegal sales and storage, not just use.
What the law says
Possessing more than 100 pounds of illegal fireworks can be charged as a felony in California. Possessing less than 100 pounds is a misdemeanor. Under the Bakersfield Municipal Code, fines are assessed per violation — meaning someone with multiple fireworks could face multiple fines.
Borden said the threshold surprises many people.
"Anything over 100 pounds, if you possess more than 100 pounds of illegal fireworks, can be charged as a felony, and anything less than is a misdemeanor, which is still a crime that nobody wants to have on their record and shouldn't have on their record," Borden said.
Investigators have encountered a wide range of suspects — from large-scale suppliers to people selling smaller quantities for extra cash. Borden said the arson unit has also taken down fireworks manufacturing operations inside city limits.
Who is helping enforce
As sellers have become aware of the undercover operations through news coverage and social media posts from the department, Borden said buys have become harder to arrange — but the task force has continued to make arrests.
"The sellers have become more leery of our presence online and in person, but they're dealing with someone very good at this, and that is PD Vice and the arson unit," Borden said.
For July 3, 4, and 5, Borden said enforcement will intensify with the full task force deployed. On the Fourth itself, arson investigators will shift focus to investigating fires, many of which are caused by fireworks, while police partners take the lead on citations.
"On the 4th of July, our arson investigators will be out investigating fires, unfortunately, most of them caused by fireworks, and our entire fire department will be putting out fires throughout the city," Borden said.
He acknowledged the scale of the problem on the Fourth makes it impossible to address every violation.
"If you've been here on the 4th of July, you know there's more fireworks than we could ever pursue. If we brought back every firefighter and we brought back every police officer, there would still be more than we can do," Borden said.
The message from both agencies
Freeborn said the agencies are not trying to prevent people from celebrating — just asking them to do it responsibly.
"We're not asking you not to have a good time. We're not asking you not to celebrate. We're not asking you not to have fun with your friends and family. We're just saying do it reasonably, do it responsibly. There's no debate that illegal fireworks are dangerous," Freeborn said.
Borden echoed that message.
"Stick with the safe and sane fireworks, and you can have all you want. Use them safely, and no one's gonna give you a hard time," Borden said.
What Borden wants to see gone
Borden said he has set two specific goals with the Bakersfield Fire Chief and the Bakersfield police chief: eliminate local online sales of illegal fireworks within the next year, and end sales from any brick-and-mortar establishment in the city.
"I think that by collaborating with SO and collaborating with PD together, we can make that go away or almost go away," Borden said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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