Fourth of July 2011, Los Angeles: The Damage

By Simone Wilson Tue., Jul. 5 2011 at 9:30 AM

sfist

Here we go again

Updated after the jump: The L.A. City Fire Department received 17 percent more calls than on a typical Fourth of July. At one point, there were 26 brush fires raging.

Judging by the American flag-shaped sunburns on our foreheads and bottle-rocket scars rendering our thumbs useless today (JK -- fireworks have been illegal in L.A. since World War II!), it was a relatively successful, if damn sweaty, Fourth of July weekend.

But when man parties with fire, especially in such a dead summer heat, on a pent-up four-day weekend like this last one, things go wrong. And they did.

"The Fourth of July is typically one of our busiest days of the year," says Jaime Moore, a spokesman for the L.A. City Fire Department. "And this was right in line with what we expected."

Here's the mess we the people created for L.A. law enforcement and emergency responders, in honor of America's big 235th:

• From Friday afternoon through midnight on Monday, the California Highway Patrol clocked 16 more drunk-driving arrests in its Southern Division than last year, at 226. Zero fatal collisions in 2010 rose to one in 2011. CHP Officer Sherman says this can be blamed on the fact that the Fourth fell on a Monday -- providing one more day for hot holiday debauchery.

• Most tragically, a 12-year-old girl in South L.A. might lose her eyesight after a firecracker blew up in her face at a house party around 11 p.m. last night. Via the Fire Department's blog:

According to witnesses, the girl had been in front of her home using a sparkler -- also illegal in Los Angeles -- when another person discharged an illegal 'firecracker-like' device near her face, impaling her right eye.
A team of six LAFD crew members worked in unison to stabilize the injury while providing emotional care to the patient and her family, then quickly transported the girl to Children's Hospital Los Angeles, where a team of experts awaited to provide her care.

• A man and a woman apparently setting off fireworks at Stoney Point park in Chatsworth last night -- and sparking a half-acre brush fire in the process -- have been evading authorities, for obvious reasons. But before they got away, witnesses saw them looking "badly injured" around 9:30 p.m., reports City News Service. After about 45 minutes of fighting the fire, firefighters "recovered a large stash of abandoned fireworks" in the cliffs nearby. If you've seen the owners (possibly burned to a crisp), the Fire Department's Arson/Counter-Terrorism Section (yes, that exists, frighteningly) would love to know where they are: (213) 485-6095.

As we can see below, the fire danger at their chosen spot for Independence Day revelry is absurd. That's what the beach is for, dummies!

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• All of SoCal's fire departments were working full time last night -- but one truck of U.S. Forest Service workers in Palmdale became an accident scene themselves when they rolled off a mountain road north of the Angeles National Forest. Three had to be cut out of the wreckage, and six were either helicoptered or ambulanced to nearby hospitals. According to City News, the driver had swerved to avoid a dog in the road.

We're still waiting on the final stats, re: firework-related incidents, from the region's various fire crews -- and total DUI arrests from the LAPD's traffic division, who was also working overtime -- so stay tuned for the rest of the damage.

Update: Moore (of the L.A. City Fire Department) says they received 1,170 calls yesterday -- 17 percent higher than the Fourth of July average. He blames this on high, even record, temperatures in various parts of L.A.

"Whenever you have high temps like that, especially on a celebration like Independence Day," he says, medical emergencies "like people forgetting to drink water" skyrocket, on top of the increased firework accidents and brush fires. A telling Tweet from the department, around 10 p.m. last night:

What a way to usher in the "worst fire season ever," right?

[@simone_electra/swilson@laweekly.com]

Tags:

brush fires, checkpoint, DUIs, fire department, fire season, fireworks, fourth of july, holiday, sparklers

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Los Angeles Fire Department

Simone, thank you for including Fire Department related information in your article.

Lightnapper, the use of any firework - but especially the devices you describe, concerns us all. Please know that enforcement of firework laws is now a Police matter. Many years ago, our agency was dispatched to firework (purely firework, not fire) complaints, stripping our City of available firefighting resources at the very time they were most needed. In several cases, the lawbreakers threw their fireworks - and sometimes things that could be labeled as munitions - directly at firefighters. It was for those reasons that enforcement, confiscation, citations and arrests of such law breakers is performed by the armed and available men and women of the LAPD.

Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,

Brian HumphreyFirefighter/SpecialistPublic Service OfficerLos Angeles Fire Department

Lightnapper

Or in this case, the "unavailable" LAPD. Trust me on that point. And many neighbors surely called. Not everyone in this city is weak-kneed. For dignity purposes, let's just say-- possibly swamped? Where do they import that type of firepower? Not "safe and sane" Alhambra, I'm sure. The ATF could have a field day in this zip code. But thanks for the info on fire dept. response, the threat to property and life, and your "public interest" reply. I was always under the impression the LAPD could "Code 3-High" protect the LAFD if necessary.

Lightnapper

No enforcement for illegal fireworks in my district by either the LAPD or the LAFD. Huge commercial ordinance was unleashed from all directions-- North, South, East and West. And I'm not talking no puny M-80's. From dusk until midnight, the show went on. It was better than Universal. Apparently, someone has money to blow up, and they sure did. It was the Tet Offensive relived. The "Cong" owned the night. In between bursting bright lights, a barrage of gunfire punctuated the night. The sharp pop of a 9mm was unmistakable, answered in due course by the distinct pow..pow...pow of a .45 cal. And still no lights and sirens. Scared, lazy, incompetant-- or just overwhelmed? I'm betting the Copper's found a hole and were hiding under a freeway underpass. That-- or looking for DUI's to fatten the city's coffers. Whatever the case, blatant lawlessness ruled the night. And we now knows who actually rules LA. Although, thankfully, there were no automatic weapons heard as in years past. LAPD helicopter nonexistent. Planes in and out of Burbank AP, delayed. Didn't see but one land, and that came from out of the North rather than from the West as is the usual, and it was just after the "bombs bursting in air" commenced. After that-- Nada. Wonder how many dogs are now desperately roaming the streets?