July 4 Weekend Won’t Be Picnic for Law Enforcement

While most Orange County residents are looking forward to a holiday, firefighters and police are beefing up patrols for a long, working weekend dealing with fires, parking jams, drunk drivers and erratic boaters.

Most police and fire departments are doubling their staffs this weekend, especially in the beach areas.

“We welcome (the crowds),” said Sgt. Tom Wallstrom of the Orange County Harbor Patrol, whose officers will be patrolling for drunk boaters. “God love ‘em, they’ll have some fun out there, but we’ll be watching them.”

Officers will be watching on land and sand as well, with increased highway and foot patrols.

Newport Beach is getting all the help it can, Police Lt. Tim Newman said. In addition to the city’s 100 officers, about 50 officers from other cities, the California Highway Patrol and the County Sheriff’s Department will be loaned to Newport Beach on Sunday and Monday to help with the more than 100,000 people a day expected to flock to the city’s beach areas.

“Most of our guys have never had a Fourth of July off in their adult lives since they’ve been working here,” Newman said. “Everybody who can walk works.”

Many police agencies, including Newport, will be making use of their volunteer reserve officers, who have been trained for holiday patrolling.

The Sheriff’s Department will use about 20 extra reserve officers, particularly in the popular holiday spots of Sunset Beach and Irvine Park.

“Parking will be at a premium at the beach,” said Sheriff’s Lt. Richard J. Olson. That is, he said, if the weather is good.

“On Memorial Day, the weather was sour. It was so bad we ended up pulling our extra officers from the beach and bringing them to the park areas.”

Sunny Forecast

The forecast is for morning clouds near the beaches, giving way to sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-70s.

This year’s sparse rainfall has the county’s fire departments especially wary of potential fire hazards, said Patti Range, spokeswoman for the Orange County Fire Department, which serves 12 cities and the unincorporated areas.

Both county and city fire departments will patrol the streets, confiscating illegal firecrackers.

Cities that permit “safe and sane” fireworks are Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Orange, Santa Ana, Stanton and Westminster.

The rest of the county’s cities and unincorporated areas ban their use. Bottle rockets, M-80s and similar fireworks are illegal statewide.

The County Fire Department will add 50 employees to the regular shift of 200 on duty this weekend. And on Monday, from noon until midnight, about 70 extra volunteers will patrol, Range said.

Overtime Costs

Last year’s Fourth of July weekend cost the department an extra $23,000 in overtime, training costs and monitoring public fireworks displays. Officials expect this year’s cost to be about the same or slightly higher, Range said.

The department’s engine companies, code enforcement officials and investigators will patrol to educate people in fire safety and confiscate illegal fireworks.

Code enforcement officers will cite those caught with 75 grains or more of gunpowder (equivalent to 25 M-80 firecrackers). Violators could face a minimum fine of $1,000 or six months in jail or both.

On the west side of the county, the Harbor Patrol will be at full strength, patrolling the waters for drunk boat operators, speeders and violations by inexperienced boaters.

Harbor Patrol Sgt. Wallstrom warned that boaters should have all their safety equipment, including life preservers. The Harbor Patrol will be making safety checks, and the U.S. Coast Guard will also be patrolling.

“We’ll terminate the voyage if they don’t have all their equipment,” Wallstrom said.

Twice the Boat Traffic

The Harbor Patrol expects double the boat traffic, especially Monday night at Dana Point Harbor, where a public fireworks display will be held.

The county’s 350 lifeguards will be visible in their Wipe Out T-shirts this weekend. Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian of Newport Beach started Project Wipe Out in 1983 as a way “to keep young people out of our emergency room with spinal injuries,” hospital spokeswoman Gail Love said.

Newport Beach’s chief lifeguard, Ken Jacobsen, said lifeguards will be warning children not to dive in the ocean head-first because it is difficult to judge water depth.

Jacobsen said the surf has been about 6 or 7 feet high this week and too rough for many swimmers. He also said the 80 or so lifeguards at Newport Beach can expect to make from 500 to 600 rescues over the three-day weekend.

State and local officers will be patrolling the county’s roads and freeways to handle holiday traffic. The CHP will be at 80% of full force statewide. CHP sobriety checkpoints will be set up at several locations in Orange County.