Latest news with #illegal fireworks
CBS News
17-07-2025
- CBS News
LA County leaders request EPA remove 75 tons of illegal fireworks from Commerce warehouse
Los Angeles County leaders on Wednesday penned a letter asking that federal crews expedite the removal of 75 tons of illegal fireworks that are currently sitting in a Commerce warehouse. On top of that, there are also 27 pallets of highly-flammable hand sanitizer stored in the same building, leading both Supervisor Janice Hahn and Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Anthony Marrone to "urgently request" the "immediate intervention" of the Environmental Protection Agency. "This facility is located in an area densely populated with occupied businesses, and a residential community approximately one half a mile away," the letter said, addressed to U.S. EPA Administrator Lee Zedlin. "The continued presence of such a large volume of highly combustible and hazardous substances near a vulnerable population and active commercial occupancies represents a critical public safety threat." Related: 4 homes burned, 1 killed, 1 hospitalized in fireworks-related fire in Pacoima The illegal pyrotechnics were discovered in May, when Cal Fire and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives raided the warehouse. At the time, more than 100,000 pounds of the explosives were removed by ATF officials, but since then, the materials have remained in the same location awaiting removal. "Although the US EPA has identified a Department of Defense site for the storage and safe destruction of the materials, Los Angeles County officials have been informed the removal of the fireworks is projected for mid-August, a timeline that is unacceptable." Hahn called the situation a "recipe for disaster" and said that local fire crews would have removed the fireworks themselves if they had the authority to do so. As the cleanup date looms, the warehouse remains under 24/7 surveillance and fire watch, county leaders said.
CBS News
15-07-2025
- CBS News
Firefighters say Riverside brush fire that nearly burned homes was started by illegal fireworks
Firefighters say that a fire that nearly spread to homes in Riverside over the weekend was started by illegal fireworks. They were dispatched to the area near Tyler Street and Jurupa Avenue at around 9 p.m. on Sunday after learning of a blaze that was burning near a row of homes overlooking the Santa Ana River bottom, according to the Riverside Fire Department. Three engine crews with nearly a dozen crew members were dispatched to the area and found the fire burning behind the homes. They were able to make quick work of the fire, reaching containment within 30 minutes and limiting the spread to a quarter acre before they could reach the residences, firefighters said. Arson investigators were called to the scene and quickly determined that the fire was caused by the use of fireworks, according to RFD. As of Monday evening, no suspects have been arrested and the investigation remains ongoing. Several fires over the last year are suspected to have ignited brush fires in Riverside, including the Hawarden Fire that torched 600-acres and destroyed multiple homes in July of 2024, and the Mandalay Fire, which burned more than 80 acres in the same river bottom in late June.
