Illegal Fireworks Cache Found in South LA Home Prompts Evacuations

A massive cache of illegal fireworks valued at $200,000 was discovered in a South Los Angeles home Wednesday morning, prompting evacuations and a bomb squad response, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Officers serving a domestic violence arrest warrant at approximately 6:30 a.m.

in the 100 block of East 85th Street found fireworks stacked in every room of the residence. The LAPD bomb squad was called to the scene, and nearby homes were evacuated due to the extreme danger posed by the pyrotechnics.

One person was arrested at the scene, and others inside the home were detained pending investigation. LAPD Deputy Chief Marc Reina described the situation as highly dangerous, noting that a house fire or any ignition could trigger a catastrophic explosion, endangering both occupants and the surrounding community.

This incident follows a May 9 fire in a converted garage in the Jefferson Park area, where a man was killed when pyrotechnics detonated. It also echoes a 2021 incident where an LAPD bomb squad overloaded a containment vessel while destroying illegal fireworks from a South LA garage, causing an explosion that injured over a dozen people, displaced at least 80 residents, and caused extensive property damage.

The investigation is ongoing.