Evacuations ordered after police find large fireworks cache at South LA home; bomb squad on scene
SOUTH LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Evacuation orders were temporarily issued on Wednesday morning after police found a large cache of fireworks at a home in South Los Angeles, authorities said.
The discovery was made shortly after 6 a.m. as a search warrant and an arrest warrant were being served at a residence in the 100 block of East 85th Street, just north of Manchester Avenue, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
The warrant was related to a domestic violence incident involving a firearm, according to the LAPD.
“They get inside the house, and they see the fireworks — every room in the house was stacked with fireworks,” LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell told ABC7 in a previously scheduled interview. “You don’t know what’s in the house next door to you, and it could be something that is very, very dangerous.”
In an interview with ABC7, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell described an investigation that led to the discovery of a large cache of fireworks at a home in South Los Angeles.
“So in the case here, we took every precaution we could,” the chief said. “They ended up making sure that it was stable to move.”
The LAPD bomb squad was summoned to the scene, and immediate evacuations were ordered in the area surrounding the home, an LAPD spokesperson said. The evacuation zone included 85th Street between Main Street and Towne Avenue, along with one block of 85th just east of Avalon Boulevard.
Residents were allowed to return after authorities determined it was safe.
Video from AIR7 showed officers carrying boxes of fireworks from the home to box trucks parked on the street. Three trucks were filled with fireworks, and a fourth was arriving at the scene shortly after noon.
At a news conference in South Los Angeles, an LAPD deputy chief described an investigation that led to the discovery of a large cache of fireworks at a home.
Officials estimated the value of the seized fireworks is between $150,000 and $200,000, with the total expected to increase as the investigation continues.
“So it’s going to take a little while to get all the fireworks out, but eventually we’ll have that, and they’ll be properly disposed of,” LAPD Deputy Chief Marc Reina said at a news conference outside the home. Reina issued a reminder that fireworks are illegal in the city of Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, neighbors said fireworks are not uncommon in the area, though the size of this seizure stood out.
“There’s fireworks here, across the street and around the corner…” said Jade, a nearby resident.
2021 fireworks seizure in South LA went awry
In July 2024, the city of Los Angeles agreed to pay more than $21 million to settle claims by residents of another South L.A. neighborhood where police bungled the detonation of a cache of illegal fireworks in 2021, injuring 17 people and displacing dozens of others.
Police found an estimated 32,000 pounds of illegal commercial and homemade fireworks and other explosive materials at a home on East 27th Street on June 30, 2021.
The LAPD bomb squad packed nearly 40 pounds of the most volatile and dangerous homemade fireworks into an armored containment vessel that was rated for only 33 pounds, according to a federal report.
The fireworks were supposed to be detonated safely at the scene because they were too unstable to move, but the vessel exploded and debris rained down on scores of homes, businesses and vehicles.
The explosion injured 10 law enforcement officers and seven residents, and damaged 22 homes, 13 businesses and 37 cars and trucks. About 80 people were displaced.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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