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ACCORDING TO LIZ - The President may love ’em but his tariffs may prevent their inclusion in the celebrations for the United States’ 250th birthday next year.
However, as disaster after disaster impacts people in Los Angeles and around the state, perhaps California should choose to make them go away. Forever.
Last Thursday night, illegally launched commercial-grade fireworks set homes ablaze, downed powerlines and forced the evacuation of a neighborhood in Pacoima near the 118 and 210 Freeway interchange.
One man died and his wife remains hospitalized in critical condition, while 18 others have been displaced.
Over 130 firefighters responded to extinguish the fire as a gas leak was identified, flames threatened to ignite a wildfire in dry brush behind the houses, and fireworks stored in an engulfed garage continued to explode raining down from the air, setting off ancillary fires including a nearby vehicle.
Also on Thursday, fireworks leveled a garage in Simi Valley, leaving one man dead.
Friday, a street-ignited firework misfired toward a home in Buena Park, killing an 8-year-old girl.
To the north on the night of July 1st, a fire triggered a series of massive explosions at a fireworks storage facility in Esparto, a rural town northwest of Sacramento which also destroyed at least two homes, several vehicles, and burned at least 80 adjacent acres.
Yesterday, the Yolo County coroner confirmed identification of the bodies of all seven missing workers which had been withheld pending family notification. Search efforts had been delayed due to the danger of approaching the warehouse which still contained unexploded fireworks as fires continued to burn. For at least two of the missing, it was their first day on the job.
Earlier this year on another Pacoima street, a garage where fireworks were being illegally manufactured was flattened, neighbors were forced from their homes, and a man suffered second-and third-degree burns over more than 50% of his body.
Reverberations from the 2021 botched LAPD detonation of illegal fireworks on East 27th and San Pedro streets in South LA are still being felt as the City Council approved a $21 million settlement last year for the 17 people injured, 35 properties damaged, and dozens of residents displaced by the blast. A payout from our taxes that helped hobble a realistic City budget this year.
The El Dorado Fire which killed a Hotshot Squad firefighter in 2020 was ignited by pyrotechnics used in a baby gender reveal. After the parents failed to extinguish the initial blaze with water bottles, the fire spread rapidly, eventually burning 22,744 acres, destroying 20 structures and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands before it was contained over three weeks later.
Probation, hundreds of hours of community service, and $1,789,972 in restitution will never make up for the life lost along with other victims’ homes and memories. Nor will the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Forest Service against the manufacturers, distributors and sellers of a device illegal in California and known to be defective.
And nothing can patch-up the pain and permanent damage inflicted by fireworks on children (and adults) year after year when devices misfire, are used incorrectly, or initiate other disasters.
A study covering fireworks-related injuries treated at twelve Los Angeles County trauma centers from 2015 to 2022 indicates the number and severity is increasing, especially to eyes and extremities, and recommended stronger prevention and enforcement.
Much as I enjoyed sitting on my deck in Highland Park watching local against the background of officially sanctioned displays at Dodger Stadium and the Rose Bowl, I had little choice. The constant noise, especially with the addition of M-80s in recent years, made it impossible to watch TV even with headsets on and the doors and windows closed.
Then there was the trauma to pets. And the questionable toxicity of fireworks’ remnants ending up in swimming pools and children’s playgrounds. And concurrent damages to wildlife and the environment.
Not to mention the prodigious impact when explosions and wildfires add to the problem.
Even with extensive oversight the risks of pyrotechnics on film sets and in nightclub extravaganzas and stadium spectacles remain.
This is where digital reality should step up with amazing displays without the dangers.
Police forces across the state are overwhelmed by calls on holidays every year, drawing them away from their primary public safety tasks and putting them at further risk from both improper explosives and from their irate and often inebriated users.
These death-dealing devices must be taken off our streets.
If California can regulate car emissions, if California can regulate guns and ammo, surely it should take action against the fireworks industry and the illegal manufacturing and importation of their products.
So far, based on results, it’s doing a piss-poor job.
If our lawmakers and officials are unable to enforce protection, they must prevent access altogether. Lives are on the line.
(Liz Amsden is a former Angeleno who now resides in Vermont and is a regular contributor to CityWatch on issues that she is passionate about. She can be reached at [email protected].)
