Newport-Mesa urges firework safety

With fireworks now on the market in Costa Mesa, authorities in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa want to remind residents of just what it means to be “safe and sane” and what it could cost them if they aren’t.

On the Fourth of July, while fireworks are legal in Costa Mesa, setting them off in public parks is not. City parks close at dusk and there is no exception for the holiday. Public parking lots and school property are also no-nos for setting them off. Sparklers of any kind are prohibited in Costa Mesa. Fireworks of any kind, including “safe and sane,” are prohibited altogether in Newport Beach.

Fireworks are only legal in Costa Mesa from 4 to 10 p.m. Saturday.

Violations can run up to $500 in Costa Mesa, city officials said.

In Newport Beach, authorities are asking partygoers and visitors to not bring in fireworks and to party responsibly.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. Sunday in Newport Beach, most of the Balboa Peninsula is designated a Safety Enforcement Zone where fines and citations are tripled.

The zone is from Pacific Coast Highway and the ocean to the north and south, 32nd Street and Newport Boulevard on the east and 54th Street on the west.

Several streets will be closed to vehicle traffic except for bicycles and pedestrians from noon Saturday until early Sunday. The peninsula is closed from Coast Highway to 32nd Street to eastbound traffic and all numbered streets between West Balboa Boulevard and Seashore Drive are also closed.

Seashore Drive between 32nd Street and 51st Street is closed to all traffic.

And as a last reminder, police urge you not to have alcoholic beverages in public. It’s illegal.

Last year, Costa Mesa police received more than 500 fireworks-related calls on the Fourth of July and arrested one person for making a modified “Piccolo Pete” bomb.