SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- Law enforcement is gearing up for thousands of revelers in Santa Cruz County for the Fourth of July weekend.

Visitors will be greeted by chain-link fencing and checkpoints before they can enter onto state beaches.

Law enforcement will look for bottles, alcohol and illegal fireworks.

Visitors that break the law can face fines of up to $1,000.

Cyclone fencing replaced the orange plastic snow-fencing used to surround about one mile of state beaches.

"It's much more durable and it's hard to knock down," said Karl Tallman, a state park ranger. "It's much more of a barrier and makes sure people come through the authorized entries."

As the fences went up, huge plumes of smoke from the fires near Big Sur could be spotted in the distance as a reminder of why law enforcement is taking a zero tolerance stance this Independence Day.

"I understand its purpose, but I think it's ridiculous," said beach visitor Brittany Heintzen. "I mean, you can bring rangers up here patrolling the area without having to fence off everything."

Along Santa Cruz beaches, police will being using new all-terrain vehicles and triple fines to discourage fireworks and alcohol.

"I think the ATVs are going to give us a huge advantage to being able to patrol the beaches," said Santa Cruz police officer King Wayman. "And maybe get a little bit of a handle on what's going on this year, especially with the high fire danger."

Law enforcement officials said they plan to continue their strict enforcement through the weekend and into next week.

Watsonville police said they plan to increased the number of patrols on July 4 to address the fireworks issue.

Officers will be issuing fines of up to $800 to violators of the recent fireworks ban.