
By Sara Beth Williams–
In an update to City Council last week, Citrus Heights Police Chief Alex Turcotte said New Year’s Eve was “relatively peaceful” in Citrus Heights this year.
Turcotte reported the department received 62 complaints for illegal fireworks between Dec. 31, 2024, and Jan. 1, 2025, and 17 citizen attestations to illegal firework activity.
“This is not new, there’s a problem in Citrus Heights with illegal fireworks,” Turcotte said, calling illegal firework activity “dangerous,” and emphasizing that fireworks impact “a great amount” of the local community. Turcotte also said Citrus Heights is “by no means alone” in its struggle to curb illegal firework activity.
Because the offense is a misdemeanor, officers are required to witness illegal fireworks activity from the launch site, and tracing aerial fireworks back to the actual parcel or catching someone in the act is “difficult.”
In an effort to curb illegal fireworks, prior to New Year’s, the Police Department launched a social media campaign called “You light it, we’ll cite it,” requesting the help of citizens to voluntarily report illegal fireworks activity using the SeeClickFix app and agree to attest to witnessing any fireworks activity.
Turcotte called the 17 citizen attestations “encouraging” and added that the department is currently vetting the witnesses and their statements and will pursue legal action accordingly. The Citizens Attestation test program allows officers to legally press charges by way of citizens’ witness accounts of illegal activity, Turcotte explained.
This past New Year’s Eve and overnight into New Year’s, Turcotte said the “perception” seems to be that fewer fireworks were heard in most areas of the city, except in one neighborhood of the city where there are “chronic” offenders. Several City Council members affirmed that fewer aerial explosions were heard in their own neighborhoods than in years past, including Vice Mayor Marijane Lopez-Taff.
“Last year it was like World War III,” Lopez-Taff said, adding that this year was “significantly quieter.”
Mayor Jayna Karpinski-Costa said she heard fewer fireworks but more gunshots this year.
Turcotte explained that while illegal fireworks complaints were higher than in 2023, overall call center volume decreased by 12 percent compared to 2023, and that the utilization of the SeeFixClick app allowed more people to easily notify police of complaints, while the call center handled other service calls.
Following a night of celebratory explosions, Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District reported on Jan. 1 that for the fourth year in a row there were no fireworks-related injuries or fires overnight.
Throughout Metro Fire’s jurisdiction, officials reported receiving 13 fireworks-related complaints, a 40 percent decrease from the same time period a year ago. No complaints were received from Citrus Heights, Sac Metro officials said.
In an update to City Council last week, Citrus Heights Police Chief Alex Turcotte said New Year’s Eve was “relatively peaceful” in Citrus Heights this year...
Thanks for reading The Sentinel. You are either trying to access subscribers-only content or you have reached your limit of 4 free articles per 30 days. Click here to sign in or subscribe.