Twenty persons were cited in Ceres for using illegal fireworks over the Fourth of July holiday, the police chief reported to the Ceres City Council last week.

Chief Trenton Johnson said the citations were issued between July 2 to July 5.

Violators face a $2,500 fine through the administrative process.

“We had 12 uniformed officers working on the Fourth, three 911 dispatchers, a drone operator, extra records clerk, and a community service officer,” said Chief Johnson.

Ceres Police made 16 DUI arrests, and received 74 calls relating to illegal fireworks. A total of 28 submissions were made on the Nail ‘Em map, and 40 calls came in on the 538-LOUD hotline. “Overall, the operation was very successful, Johnson told the council. “The combination of the proactive enforcement, increased staffing, drone operations, community reporting tools, allowed officers to quickly identify and respond to violations while maintaining proper staffing on the streets.”

He stated that activity on Friday, July 3 was “not as active as I thought it was going to be.” Johnson also felt the frequency of illegal fireworks was about the same as in 2025.

Councilwoman Rosalinda Vierra said she heard of one bush fire in her district which was put up quickly.