Eleven citations for illegal fireworks — that can set those receiving them as back as far as $1,500 when administrative costs are tacked on — have been issued in Manteca as of Sunday evening.

“We expect to issue a lot more,” noted Manteca Fire Chief Dave Marques.

And while overall fire calls are below the usual number expected over an extended Fourth of July holiday weekend, there has been a surge in brush fires.

“We don’t know the reason,” Marques said of the grass fires that have been relatively small so far.

But typically when investigations are done during this time of year, the culprits often are fireworks — illegal and otherwise.

The biggest dangers are setting legal fireworks off too close to dried vegetation as well as drifting embers from illegal fireworks — those that get airborne or move along the ground.

And it doesn’t have to be a direct hit on a house to cause massive damage.

On Sunday, embers from illegal fireworks are suspected in setting trees on fire in a Los Banos neighborhood . The fire quicky spread to fencing and completely engulfed a two-story home while damaging four other houses.

Firefighters in the Lathrop Manteca Fire District a number of years back  responded to a similar tree-to-fence-to house fire caused by illegal fireworks in Raymus Village.

They were able to get the fire under control before it did substantial damage to the house.

House fires have been started in past years when fireworks weren’t properly disposed of.

People often think of they wait an hour or so and put spent fireworks in a garbage cart that it is OK.

What can happen is the fireworks despite the length at time were not “completely” extinguished. One lone ember can restart a fire.

It is why firefighters stress the need to douse all fireworks debris in a bucket of water before throwing them out.

In the case of Manteca about seven years ago, a resident in a Woodward Park neighborhood placed used fireworks in a cart. Several hours later it caught on fire, spread to a fence, and did minor damage to homes before it was extinguished by Manteca Fire Department crews.

There were three significant grass fires on Monday as of 3 p.m.

The biggest was in the Tracy area. There were also brush fires in Lathrop and at River Road and McKinley Avenue  in the French Camp area.

There have also been a number of smaller grass fires in Manteca during the past few days.

State fire experts have warned while the wildfire danger is lower in the higher elevations this year due to more moisture and a lingering snowpack, fire conditions have worsened in the valley.

That’s because the heavy winter rains produced a bumper crop of vegetation that has been made tinder dry by drying winds and the heat.

Manteca adds manpower

to go after illegal fireworks

Ten additional  public safety personnel will be out tonight to  target those using illegal fireworks.

There will be five more Manteca police officers than are usually on the streets as there has been since Friday.

Two fire inspectors and a fire marshal will also be out along with two additional fire personnel.

That illegal fireworks manpower deployment is in addition to seven police officers that are part of DUI salutation patrols funded by grants.

Marques noted that the patrols have issued a significant amount of warnings.

The city as of Sunday has already issued as many citations that have a basic fine of $1,000 each as of Sunday.

Marques expects that number to be significantly higher after Monday’s and tonight’s enforcement efforts are concluded.

 To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com