Long Beach's Wrigley Neighborhood Rattled Again By Bomb-Style Fireworks Illegal Statewide; One Resident Spots Some Enforcement Activity

LBReport.com

News

LBREPORT.com is reader and advertiser supported. Support independent news in LB similar to the way people support NPR and PBS stations. We're not non-profit so it's not tax deductible but $49.95 (less than an annual dollar a week) helps keep us online.

(July 3, 2016) -- Residents of LB's Wrigley area indicated on Facebook overnight that bomb-like fireworks continued to shake their neighborhood, including one device at about 8 p.m. July 2 that one resident described as "like a bomb went off in our alley."

Another resident responded (area of Golden/Burnett) that her "dog began to cry after that one." Another said she had out of town guests and "hope they get some kind of sleep tonight." Still another said their dog goes crazy every night when those fireworks start" (thus indicating this has been going on for several days.)

At least one resident spotted some type enforcement activity, including a vehicle [we won't describe it here] that watched neighbors for about 30 minutes, then confiscated all their fireworks [unclear if these were "safe and sane" items sold in nearby cities but illegal in LB or larger fireworks illegal statewide] and gave them a warning.

[Scroll down for further.]

The warning didn't satisfy some respondents. "I think giving a warning is lame and not a deterrent. They need to ticket and fine people or they'll keep doing it," one said. Another commented: "What is the point of city officials posting the 'fines' and 'prison time' when the cops just wave them off? That. sucks. PTSD, pets scared to death, babies, crying, people going to work on little or no sleep with nerves frayed. This is no joke."

One resident attached nighttime photos [difficult to discern details] of Hill Street at the L.A. River that he said showed kids setting off fireworks. "They claimed they were not doing anything - just watching the fireworks being set off. But things have quieted down over there. For now," the resident said.

Yesterday (July 2), LBREPORT.com invited readers to help us document the extent and locations of neighborhood-disruptive, statewide-banned, pyros and explosives in Long Beach over the July 4th holiday period. By these we're not referring to so-called "safe and sane" whistlers, sparklers and spinners that some cities (including Lakewood) allow and LB bans; we mean the M-80 style bombs and aerial rockets that are illegal to use or possess by individuals anywhere in California.

If you see or hear these bombs or aerial rockets in your neighborhood:

(1) First call LBPD at (562) 435-6711 or 911 and report them [but don't expect an officer to respond; they're swamped] and
(2) Use the hashtag #LBCFireworks and/or go to LBCFireworks on Twitter to document what's taking place on a special page LBREPORT.com has set up for this purpose. You can jump to @LBCFireworks at this link and you'll also find it in the right column on our front page: www.LBREPORT.com.