Authorities Friday reminded Southlanders that fireworks are dangerous for personal use, and they urged people to instead attend professional fireworks shows as they celebrate the Fourth of July holiday.
“Illegal fireworks are illegal for a reason, because they cause major injuries and they spark fires,” Daniel Berlant of Cal Fire said at a multi-agency news conference Friday morning at the LAFD’s Frank Hotchkin Memorial Training Center in Elysian Park.
“And with the dry conditions — and even in residential areas — fireworks cause a significant amount of damage,” Berlant said. “So we need the public to find other ways to celebrate.”
Firefighters demonstrated the power of a firecracker by blowing up a watermelon. And they showed how easily clothing can catch fire from fireworks.
Officials with the Grossman Burn Center also noted the extreme heat of fireworks, and their unpredictability.
“They go off when they’re not supposed to, they shoot where they’re not supposed to,” Grossman Burn Center Dr. Matt Young said.
Cal Fire officials noted that since 2013, more than 20,000 acres have burned in California due to firework-ignited brush fires, equating to $59.3 million in property losses.
“Our arson and bomb investigators and law enforcement officers have been busy assisting with numerous illegal fireworks enforcement operations, and members of the arson and bomb unit have successfully seized over 245,000 pounds of illegal fireworks from all over California since July 2022,” Berlant said in a statement earlier this week. “We have a zero tolerance toward the use, transportation and possession of illegal fireworks. Even `safe and sane’ fireworks are banned in many communities and bring large fines for their illegal use.”