My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: California
My friend recently got cited for running a stop sign. The intersection he was cited at doesn’t have stop signs; it has street lights that were operating normally at time of citation. The light was green for his side so he proceeded thru at 30 miles per hour, as recorded on his ticket. There was something unusual that night, however. It was 1 in the morning, and there were flares, lit and burning, lining the lane dividers, from about 10 yards out, for all 4 points of entry, toward the intersection. I’d never heard of or seen a setup like that before. I’d never been taught anything about a setup like that before, from traffic school, et al.
My questions are 2.
1st, what does the setup with the flares mean? Is that kind of setup supposed to represent a stop sign?
2nd, the traffic code for the violation reads
_' 22450 (a) The driver of any vehicle approaching a stop sign at the entrance to, or within, an intersection shall stop at a limit line, if marked, otherwise before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection.'
If he were sighted for not stopping at a stop sign, how is that possible at an intersection that uses signal lights that were operational at the time of citing? If the light is green for him yet there are the flares, and if the flares are meant to mean a stop sign, there appears to be a direct contradiction. The ticket doesn’t make sense logically to me.
My friend is scratching his head, wondering what to do. I’d like to get back to him with something clear and definite. I appreciate any pro help.

