Whistle Buster, Battle of Colors, Super Stallion, Blockbuster Candle, New York Harbor Show, Thunder Bomb, Enduring Freedom -- these are a few of the 190 pounds of fireworks confiscated in Alameda County on the Fourth of July. By most accounts, though, Independence Day was quiet in the Oakland hills.

Dick Spees, a former city councilman and current president of the Piedmont Pines Homeowners Association, said he didn't receive any complaints from hills residents over the holiday weekend. The same is true for Nick Vigilante of the Montclair Neighborhood Safety and Improvement Council.

However, citywide there were glitches in the fireworks prevention campaign, which City Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente hopes to have ironed out by New Year's Eve.

Oakland's fireworks prevention hotline, which residents could call with anonymous tips on illegal fireworks possession, was inundated with calls, he said. Most messages were too vague to result in the confiscation of fireworks.

"Next year, we will have a live person working the hotline and passing on the information," De La Fuente said. "We learn from our mistakes, and hopefully we'll do better next year."

Most illegal fireworks were set off between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. on July 4, De La Fuente said.

"It's almost like people held back," he said. "It used to be a problem for two weeks before the holiday. Now we've got it narrowed to those six hours."

De La Fuente and City Councilwoman Jean Quan agreed that the police department is understaffed to handle illegal fireworks, due to other crimes that often take place on Independence Day crime -- such as drunk driving and theft.

Quan rode along with the Oakland police on July 4.

"The people patrolling the streets only had time to respond to immediate dangers," Quan said. "They got overwhelmed. We only responded to (fireworks) calls when a gun was being shot."

Still, the number of fires on Independence Day was down this year, De La Fuente said.

Last year, there were seven fires on July 4; in 2002, there were 12 fires. This year, though, only one fire was reported in Oakland.

Next year, the police beats will each have two officers on patrol send out two officers per area to respond to fireworks calls, De La Fuente said. This extra staff will be funded by the $1,000 fines being imposed on those with illegal fireworks.

"Citizens who are not breaking the law should not have to pay for the extra police force," De La Fuente said.

Most officers were lenient on fireworks users this year, De La Fuente said.

"It's hard to hand out a $1,000 fine for people setting off just a few fireworks," De La Fuente said. "Beware next year."

Reach Tricia Caspers at 510-748-1682 or tcaspers@cctimes.com.