Salinas assesses huge toll of illegal Fourth of July fireworks.

People love to watch things go boom and light up the sky on the Fourth of July.

Unfortunately, that affection for aerial explosions led to some very big headaches for the Salinas fire and police departments—and heartache for the residents who lost their home to flames that night.

The home in Alisal burned to the ground after fireworks hit the roof, according to an initial assessment by investigators. The fire remains under investigation.

“We don’t have the numbers yet, but clearly this year was worse than 2016, when we saw an approximately 80 percent drop in illegal fireworks use,” Fire Chief Ed Rodriguez said in a statement issued July 7.

Fire and police departments are compiling data from the night, generating a list of infractions they will act on, he said.

He expects compiling the data will take two to three weeks. Officials will make a report to the Salinas City Council within 90 days.

As to why fireworks were a bigger problem this year, officials said that it could be in part because last year voters overturned a 2015 ordinance passed by the Salinas City Council banning all fireworks, including “safe and sane” ones sold as fundraisers for nonprofit groups.

The ballot measure, Measure C, was backed by a group called Citizens for a Safer Fourth of July. It received more than $83,000 in campaign contributions from two major firework companies, TNT Fireworks and Big Bear Fireworks, Inc.

Fire and police officials also credit a major public outreach campaign last summer about the ban, featuring electronic signs and ads on the radio and social media. That campaign was financed by a one-time grant.

They also noted that last year the city paid for a free fireworks show at the Rodeo grounds on the Fourth of July, providing a place for residents to observe high-caliber fireworks deployed by a professional.