Peninsula man arrested on suspicion of setting off fireworks

SAN MATEO COUNTY >> Authorities on Thursday arrested a 49-year-old Menlo Park man on suspicion of setting off fireworks in an unincorporated part of San Mateo County, authorities said.

About 3 a.m., deputies saw fireworks being set off in the area of Devonshire and Dumbarton avenues in North Fair Oaks, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Deputies spotted a man walking away from the scene and stopped him. The sheriff’s office said he was on parole and a search of his person turned up narcotics, narcotics paraphernalia and a “fully discharged ‘ghost’ roman candle-style firework.”

The man was arrested on suspicion of possession/discharge of fireworks as well as possession of narcotics paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance and possession of tear gas by a felon, the sheriff’s office said.

Fireworks are illegal in unincorporated parts of the county and fines can be up to $1,000 under a new ordinance.

The arrest comes amid a Bay Area-wide crackdown on illegal fireworks ahead of the Fourth of July. In unincorporated parts of Contra Costa County, people can be cited for allowing fireworks to be used on their property. The city of San Jose, the South Bay’s hotspot for illegal fireworks, has doubled fines for first-time violators.

Authorities say they are concerned about the potential for fireworks to spark blazes as the region grapples once again with tinderdry conditions. Recent apartment fires in Antioch and San Pablo and a brush fire in Vallejo have been linked to fireworks.

Anyone with information related to the San Mateo County case can contact the sheriff’s office anonymous tip line at 800547-2700.