Gunshots? Nope — fireworks kept you up

When loud booms were echoed across town just after midnight on Aug. 16, many residents feared they were hearing gunshots, while others guessed fireworks. Fireworks it was, illegal ones in fact.

One resident, who asked not to be identified, photographed some of the fireworks left behind as the culprits — police say criminals — moved around town. Many of the complaints posted to social media site, Nextdoor.com, were from the Blossom Manor neighborhood.

“There were two sets of reports,” Blossom Manor resident Rex Naden said. “The first one was a little after midnight and the second was around 12:25 p.m. They were very loud. I didn't feel threatened, just annoyed that they woke us up.”

After the first noisy report, Naden went back to sleep — only to be awakened again.

“This time it was really scary,” Naden said. “I couldn't sleep the rest of the night. Why would somebody do this? There are people threatening our communities and while I don't easily get riled up, I've been reading so much about hate events that it's top of mind.”

Neighbors shared his concern, jamming the town's non-emergency number with so many calls that many people got a busy signal.

That's what happens when the volume of calls overwhelms dispatchers, Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Capt. Clint Tada explained.

“Our officers went to the area, along with San Jose police officers and sheriff's deputies, who received calls from their areas. When we got there we were unable to locate any suspects.”

Police did receive information from the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department that the fireworks were being set off by people in a dark-colored SUV.

“My assumption is they're probably juveniles,” Tada said. “So, we're asking parents and adults to be mindful of the dangers of fireworks — especially if juveniles are involved.”

The main message, Tada said, is that all fireworks are illegal in Los Gatos.

It wasn't just police responding to calls.

“We were initially dispatched for a possible transformer explosion, but while responding fireworks were visible in the air,” Santa Clara County Fire Department Capt. Bill Murphy said. “We found one large firework at Camellia Terrace and Gardenia Way that we extinguished.”

The fireworks that firefighters found were not even ‘safe and sane,'” he said.

“They would be illegal anywhere in the state of California and were particularly dangerous because they were launched into the air,” Murphy said.

People caught violating Santa Clara County's fireworks ordinance could be fined $350 for a first offense, $700 for a second violation and $1,000 for subsequent violations.

This is not the first time residents have been disturbed by post-Fourth of July fireworks; at about 9:30 p.m. July 27 many residents jumped when they heard a loud “boom” that appeared to come from the area around Los Gatos High School.

Anyone with information on possible suspects is asked to call the Los GatosMonte Sereno non-emergency number at 408-3548600.