While holiday revelers thrilled to the rockets’ red glare and bombs bursting in air, East Bay fire crews had little to celebrate this Fourth of July as illegal fireworks fueled an increase in emergency calls over last year.

An illegal fireworks display on Bruno Avenue in Pittsburg. Contra Costa County Fire Protection District implemented its limited response plan on July 4 to ensure resource availability during one of its busiest nights of the year. (Ray Saint Germain/Bay City News)

Contra Costa County Fire Protection District spokesman Steve Hill said Wednesday there were 69 fire responses between 8 p.m. Tuesday and 3 a.m. Wednesday. That compared with 44 fire calls during the same period in 2022.

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Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.