300+ pounds of fireworks collected at Mission Hills buyback

article

LAPD Bomb Squad officers stand near boxes that were filled with illegal fireworks and dropped off during the second annual Anonymous Fireworks Buyback Program in Brand Park in Mission Hills on July 2, 2022. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times via Gett

Expand

LOS ANGELES - More than 300 pounds of fireworks were collected during an anonymous buyback event at Brand Park in Mission Hills, police said.

"Today, LAPD participated in the Fireworks Buyback, an event tailored to keep the community safe from illegal fireworks for the 4th of July, the Los Angeles Police Department tweeted Saturday. "The event resulted in the collection of over 380 lbs of commercial, consumer, and homemade fireworks."

People who turned in fireworks during the Saturday event received tickets to Dodgers games, Universal Studios, gas cards or other rewards.

The reward depended on the weight and type of fireworks turned in and were offered on a first-come first-serve basis, according to Los Angeles City Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez, who authored legislation in 2021 creating the buyback program.

"There's a lot of implications and impacts, and so we're asking the public to be responsible and turn in whatever they have," Rodriguez told City News Service before the buyback was held.

"If they're in possession of these items, don't go popping them off because you feel you already spent the money. We're offering you an opportunity to turn it back and get something for it."

Illegal fireworks negatively impact the community, causing injury and distress to people and animals, exacerbating the environmental impact of air pollution and endangering communities in very high fire-hazard zones, Rodriguez said.

"We communicate every single year the importance of making sure that residents understand that fireworks in the city of Los Angeles are illegal," Rodriguez said. "They pose a great danger of physical harm to individuals that are unprepared to deal with explosives."

Fireworks are also illegal in all unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County.

More than 40 cities in Los Angeles and Orange counties do allow the sale and personal use of state-approved fireworks including Inglewood, Lakewood, Anaheim and Huntington Beach.

Here is a complete list for both counties::

Los Angeles County