There were very few problems associated with celebrations and festivities during the long Fourth of July week.

Plumas County Sheriff Greg Hagwood said he was impressed by how smoothly everything went. He praised event organizers and said he was pleased by how well the thousands of visitors conducted themselves.

“It was relatively quiet,” Hagwood said. “There were fewer arrests than last year.”

The sheriff said there were no fatalities associated with the holiday events.

Hagwood said he was particularly impressed with the High Sierra Music Festival, which was held July 5 – 8 at the Plumas-Sierra County Fairgrounds in Quincy.

“The High Sierra staff and management deserve some recognition for their security,” Hagwood said. “They put forth a lot of effort in putting together good staff in key positions out there.”

Hagwood said he attended the music festival every day. He said the promoters told him it was the festival’s largest crowd in more than three years. Official attendance numbers were not available at press time. But Hagwood estimated between 12,000 and 15,000 people showed up for the popular festival.

The sheriff said another reason there were fewer arrests and citations was the High Sierra organizers’ emphasis on making the event more family oriented.

“The promoters have placed an emphasis on expanding services for the family,” Hagwood said. “It’s more of a family environment. And as a result, we are seeing fewer problems.”

Hagwood said many of the local merchants he spoke to were pleased with the amount of business they received from festival as well.

Although there were no major incidents, sheriff’s deputies and the California Highway Patrol were still very busy July 4 – 9.

During that period there were 11 DUI arrests in the county. Hagwood said his office had 296 calls for service, including three search and rescue calls.

He said the majority of the calls (173) came from the Chester and Quincy areas.

There were four drug-related arrests in Quincy and 35 bookings throughout the county.

Hagwood said that because the jail is full, most people cited for minor violations are released.

He added that because of budget cutbacks, the sheriff’s department was working with “minimal staffing levels” during the holiday.