On the streets, patrolling a busy peninsula and West Newport district were 246 peace officers — 140 from the Newport Beach Police Department, 60 from nearby agencies and others from the California Highway Patrol and Orange County Sheriffs Department.
Newport police Lt. Bill Hartford vouched for a busy Independence Day.
"There appeared to be quite a few more people that came to town than in years past," Hartford said. "The arrests were probably a little bit lower over the last number of years, though."
Police responded to 882 calls for service — the majority for West Newport — and 103 arrests were made, Hartford said. The police department did not have a numerical breakdown available as of Monday of the types of arrests and service calls.
For the Fire Department, there were 59 incidents — two-and-a-half times more than the standard call volume on a summer Sunday, though about the same number as last year, said Fire Division Chief Paul Matheis. Though he had few specifics Monday, Matheis said any injuries he heard about involved burns from fire pit accidents.
The department brought on extra help in the form of more firefighters, paramedic units and equipment that mainly were used to respond along Newport's busy west end.
"It was an active day, but they were able to manage the call volume," Matheis said. "They had a plan and the plan worked."
Significant was a 9:20 p.m. call for a residential fire on the 600 block of Vista Bonita, in the Eastbluff community. First responders saw smoke showing from the roof.
"The fire started low and ran up against the wall, going to the roof level," Matheis said.
Firefighters forced entry into the home they initially thought five people — four children and their father — were stuck in, said Matheis.
"That ramped up the whole exercise," Matheis said.
