Fireworks in Altadena (File Photo – Lois P. Jones).
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger sent letters to federal law enforcement agencies asking for their help and collaboration to stop an alarming trend of an influx of illegal and increasingly dangerous fireworks.
By News Desk
The letters were prompted by a recent fatal house explosion in San Bernardino County that killed two men, in addition to an increase in community concern for the perils that illegal fireworks pose to local neighborhoods.
In the letters Barger sent to the regional chiefs representing the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, she outlined her concerns about the use of illegal fireworks and emphasized the increased danger of wildfires caused by illegal fireworks in drought-stricken California.
“Our office shares the concern of our constituents of the significant fire danger this poses, particularly in consideration of the illegal firework explosion that occurred in a home in Ontario, California, on March 16, 2021,” Barger said in the letters to the agencies.
The March 16 explosion that killed two men occurred in an Ontario home’s illegal stockpile of fireworks.
Skyrockets, mortars, firecrackers, M-80s and all other fireworks that explode or fly are prohibited throughout California. However, illegal fireworks are imported by individuals from other states where they are legal and are shipped across the U.S. borders and from overseas. Their use has become increasingly common on July 4 and throughout the year. This contraband has been a concerning trend in Southern California and in the 5th Supervisorial District, which Supervisor Barger represents, including the Antelope Valley, Santa Clarita Valley, San Gabriel Valley, and San Fernando Valley.
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