Pasadena Ramps Up July 4 Fireworks Crackdown With Expanded Patrols, Thousands of Inspections

The Verdugo Fire Investigation Task Force has already seized 25,000 pounds of illegal fireworks in 2026 — dwarfing the 128 pounds confiscated across all of 2025 — as Pasadena prepares to deploy a growing force of police officers, arson investigators and fire prevention teams in the days leading up to the Fourth of July.

The city’s fireworks mitigation plan, set to be presented to the Public Safety Committee on June 17 as an information-only briefing, outlines an enforcement and outreach campaign that will begin ramping up on June 26 and peak on July 4.

The committee will receive the presentation but is not scheduled to take any action on it. Fire Chief Chad Augustin, Deputy Chief Anthony James of the Pasadena Fire Department and Public Information Officer Lisa Derderian will deliver the briefing. The Public Safety Committee is an advisory committee of the City Council.

According to the presentation, the city’s approach centers on education, public awareness and enforcement, with the goal of discouraging illegal firework use and preventing firework-related injuries, fires and property damage.

Staffing will increase in stages. Four Pasadena Police Department officers and corporals will patrol from June 26 through June 30, with that number rising to six from July 1 through July 3. On July 4 itself, the deployment expands to seven officers and corporals, a sergeant, a Pasadena Fire Department arson investigator, a fire shift investigator and two Pasadena Fire firework prevention teams. Four officers will remain on duty July 5.

The Pasadena Fire Department also plans to conduct 4,611 hazardous vegetation inspections on residential properties. A bilingual messaging campaign in English and Spanish will run across legacy and social media platforms, with signage posted throughout the city on signs, vehicle stickers and changeable message signs, both portable and pole-mounted. A press conference is scheduled for June 25.

Pasadena’s ordinance holds violators, including property owners and tenants, responsible through citations and escalating fines. Possession of a safe and sane firework carries a $250 first-offense fine, while possession of a dangerous firework starts at $300. Discharge fines are steeper, beginning at $500 for safe and sane fireworks and $650 for dangerous fireworks, with repeat offenses reaching $1,000.

Fireworks-related calls for service have held relatively steady over the past four years, totaling 129 in 2022, 145 in 2023, 129 in 2024 and 127 in 2025. Citations have fluctuated more widely, with officers writing 23 in 2023, 13 in 2024 and 10 in 2025. In 2025, fireworks were linked to one tree fire and two vegetation fires, with no injuries reported. Seizures in prior years ranged from 19 pounds in 2022 to 118 pounds in 2023 and 48 pounds in 2024.

The Public Safety Committee meets at 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 17, in the Council Chamber, Room S249, at Pasadena City Hall, 100 North Garfield Avenue. For more information, call (626) 744-4124 or visit https://www.cityofpasadena.net/commissions/agendas/.