t’s that time again – but who needs a written warning when you already have the alarm percussively blowing up outside your window? You’ve no doubt heard the fireworks already, even though Independence Day is still weeks away. It almost seems like they’ve just kept going straight through from last year. But LA doesn’t wait for an excuse to indulge in some light pyromania. The Dodgers won? Light some fireworks. The Dodgers lost? Light some fireworks. And the closer we get to the 4th, the more frequent (and bombastic) these amateur displays become. Now, a disturbing revelation regarding January’s nightmarish wildfires is bringing heightened tension to the fireworks Los Angeles citizens so adore.
Fireworks at the Root of the Palisades Fire
Will we ever definitively know what sparked the Palisades Fire at the beginning of January? It’s inspired plenty of speculation, with one of the more popular theories being that it all started with a New Year’s Eve reveler setting off illegal fireworks. On May 20, this theory became even more plausible with the publication of footage obtained from cameras owned and operated by UC San Diego.
Shortly after midnight on New Year’s Day, the camera picked up what appears to be a bright, brief flash before a fire ignites on a nearby hilltop. Neighbors corroborated with reports of area fireworks at the time of the incident. The resulting fire, the Lachman Fire, was addressed by firefighters and seemed to be extinguished.
But embers can be resilient, remaining active when shielded by rock and dense root systems. It’s being floated as an explanation for the next relevant piece of footage, filmed by the same UC San Diego camera, trained on the same patch of land, about a week later on Tuesday, January 7.
Around 10:30 am, the ground in the same spot where the Lachman Fire had sparked began to mysteriously smoke. It would quickly be fanned by violent winds, becoming the historically destructive Palisades Fire. Some firefighting professionals are citing these videos as proof that it was actually fireworks Los Angeles amateurs deployed that resulted in the most destructive fires in the county’s history.
“Safe and Sane” Fireworks
So, what constitutes an illegal firework in Los Angeles? Believe it or not, any firework at all is illegal within the city limits. But at about 10 pm on the 4th of July, you’d never guess it when the city explodes in its unparalleled technicolor meltdown. The laws on fireworks are actually quite strict, even across the state. It’s just that firework laws, especially at a small scale, are rarely enforced.
California makes a further distinction with the state’s “safe and sane” seal. Not all fireworks are created equal. In the state of California, certain minor fireworks such as bang snaps, colored smoke balls, and sparklers, are deemed “safe and sane”. And, in most areas throughout the state, this means they’re also perfectly legal. Meanwhile, projectile fireworks and those capable of explosion are illegal at the state level.
The regulations are notably more restrictive within the city of LA (and most of the county, too). All of the fireworks Los Angeles citizens love are, by their very nature, illegal. Yes, even the “safe and sane” smoke bombs and sparklers. LA isn’t alone in this ban. Fireworks are also completely outlawed in nearby Long Beach and San Diego.
Easy Access to the Fireworks Los Angeles Residents Love (or Hate)
Fireworks aren’t exactly hard to come by in California, regardless of their legal status. In fact, they’re big business. One need only look to one of the leading names in firework distribution, TNT Fireworks. Hocking their wares at seasonal firework stalls across the country, TNT rakes in well over $100 million annually by selling fireworks that meet the state’s official “safe and sane” standards.
But the fireworks Los Angeles residents prefer are neither safe nor sane. And that’s a big reason why TNT is also calling on state and civic governments to more effectively enforce the current laws regarding firework use. Black market fireworks aren’t good for legal business. However, a lot of the most impressive (and destructive) fireworks set off by Los Angeles residents are obtained over state lines; most prominently in neighboring Nevada, where fireworks are largely unrestricted.
This means that a typical Los Angeles firework incident is anything but “safe and sane.” Rather, it’s a window rattling blast that leaves canines cowering and sleep a distant memory. Take, for example, a January 2024 blip on the crime radar: a 30-minute industrial-grade firework show late on a Sunday night lit up the streets of Little Tokyo. Law enforcement responded to find firework crates empty of their contents in a parking lot near the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. The amateur showmen were never identified.
Dampening the Fuse
Sometimes, even when the police do get their man, the fireworks Los Angeles residents so deeply enjoy still find their way into combustive glory. Perhaps this is best illustrated by what has quickly become the go-to story in LA’s love-hate relationship with fireworks. In 2021, LAPD discovered 16 tons of illegal fireworks in a residential area of South Los Angeles.
Mishandling resulted in the entire load being detonated more or less on the spot, destroying homes and injuring 17 people. In 2024, the city agreed to pay out a $21 million settlement to those directly affected by the detonation. It’s worth noting that the owner of the fireworks claims he got the majority of his stockpile in Nevada.
In June of last year, police conducted the largest fireworks seizure in state history when they confiscated over 75 tons from a Gardena area warehouse. But if you think this year will somehow be different, think again. On May 21, local law enforcement seized over 100,000 pounds of illegal fireworks from a warehouse in the City of Commerce. While Commerce allows for “safe and sane” fireworks, the confiscated stock was well outside of legal regulations.
Pressure to Crackdown on Fireworks in Los Angeles
According to California officials, fireworks-related property losses across the state have totaled somewhere in the neighborhood of $4 million. That figure actually seems low, especially if you’ve lived through a few of the city’s famous all-night New Year’s Eve or Independence Day amateur fireworks extravaganzas. Of course, if we start to consider the damage from the Palisades Fire as fireworks-related, that number is going to balloon dramatically.
Despite economic hardship, the fireworks Los Angeles residents set off throughout the year show no signs of slowing down. There’s always money for fireworks. Just in recent years, the state has collectively confiscated hundreds of literal tons of illegal fireworks. But people across the city are also weary after watching Altadena and Pacific Palisades leveled by the January wildfires. Now, with footage indicating that a stray firework may have been responsible for the Palisades Fire, will local officers prioritize cracking down on amateur firework use around the city?
In 2023, California as a whole decided to get tougher on illegal firework possession by doubling fines. Signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom, the law increased the maximum fine for illicit firework possession from $50,000 to $100,000. A fine of this size would only apply to fireworks caches of at least 5,000 pounds, targeting black market distributors as opposed to your obnoxious neighbor lighting off bottle rockets at 2 am on a Tuesday. But is it something? Sure.
July Fog
Yet, Los Angeles has a true passion for fireworks that no other major American city can touch. You can count on a thick chemical fog to fall over the city in the thunderous wee hours of July 5, slowly settling on the cracked concrete like a noxious blanket. And we have a few solid weeks bookending the date, in which the fireworks casually lobbed into the streets would rival any other city’s main event. That’s a lot of love to tame. But if losing a finger isn’t enough to deter this lust for explosives, is a burnt-down home? We have a suspicion that a lot more would need to change before the fireworks Los Angeles loves finally fall silent.
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