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Fireworks Light The L.A. River, Palm Trees On Fire
Angelenos took to the streets last night to blow things up in the name of freedom. According to City News Service, this resulted in about 36 fireworks-related incidents, including six injuries, from midnight to midnight on Monday, and another six incidents from midnight to 8 a.m. Tuesday morning. This number was described as "on par with previous years" by LAFD's Erik Scott.
Of note, fireworks started a fire at a house in 17000 block of East Woodcroft Ave. in Azusa at about 11:24 p.m. No one was hurt in the blaze, but the home was completely destroyed. The Red Cross is working to assist the family of five that was displaced in the blaze, Pasadena Star-News reports.
Family displaced after wayward firework burns down home in Azusa https://t.co/kcBbZ8NmsX pic.twitter.com/BYcJkjPOVp
— KTLA (@KTLA) July 5, 2016
Over in Frogtown, fireworks set a section of brush and trees along the L.A. River in the 2400 block of Meadowvale Ave. ablaze at about 11 p.m., Eastsider LA reports.
A witness told the Eastsider that it started when a group of teenagers began intentionally shooting fireworks off in her direction.
"They set off three shots aimed at me and my friends. We had to drop to the ground to avoid being hit. What they did hit was a huge palm tree, which then ignited and caused a brush fire," she said.
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Elsewhere, various palm trees caught on fire when hit with errant fireworks, though perhaps not as many as in 2014, when Angelenos lit 55 palm trees on fire throughout the 4th.
Please come quick #LAFD these fools done set a palm tree on fire. #SouthLA pic.twitter.com/LN9paRhlUQ
— Jasmyne Cannick (@Jasmyne) July 5, 2016
However, the most horrifying incident happened before the 4th, on Saturday. At 12:30 p.m., a 9-year-old girl was severely injured when handling illegal fireworks at Burrell-MacDonald Park in Compton, the L.A. Times reports. According to Sgt. Daniel Tobin, her parents came out of their home, located near the park, to find their daughter standing in the park with "her entire left hand... missing." Tobin said the damage was beyond repair, and that the girl also lost fingers on her right hand in the explosion. The girl's grandmother said someone lit off a firework and threw it towards the girl, according to ABC 7. She did not realize it had been lit when she bent down and picked it up.
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