The Wichita Fire Department says their crews handed out 88 citations for illegal fireworks over the 4th of July weekend. Most of those citations, 55 of them, were on Sunday.
There were 13 more citations issued this year than in 2020. The citation carries a $250 penalty and court costs.
Officials said they are still collecting data on injuries and trash and dumpster fires. However, there were three structure fires caused by fireworks this year, compared to seven structure fires last year.
In west Wichita, the main hot spot was in neighborhoods along 21st Street, between Hoover and Maize Road. In east Wichita, there were a bunch of smaller hot spots.
The most common illegal fireworks that the teams confiscated were mortars and artillery shells. Officials said that people tend to be upset when their illegal fireworks are confiscated, but this year the confrontations were not as bad because the police department helped de-escalate the situations.