SOUTH LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Police Department officers discovered a large cache of illegal fireworks during a warrant execution in South Los Angeles on Wednesday morning, prompting immediate evacuations and the eventual removal of fireworks valued between $150,000 and $200,000. The discovery occurred shortly after 6 a.m. at a residence in the 100 block of East 85th Street, just north of Manchester Avenue.

The warrants, which included both a search warrant and an arrest warrant, were connected to a domestic violence incident involving a firearm, according to the LAPD. Upon entering the home, officers found every room stacked with fireworks. “They get inside the house, and they see the fireworks -- every room in the house was stacked with fireworks,” LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said. The LAPD bomb squad was summoned, and evacuations were ordered for the surrounding area, including 85th Street between Main Street and Towne Avenue and one block east of Avalon Boulevard.

Residents were allowed to return after authorities confirmed it was safe. Video from the scene showed officers carrying boxes of fireworks to box trucks parked on the street. Three trucks were filled by noon, with a fourth arriving shortly after, and ultimately five full trucks were used to transport the fireworks to the fire authority for proper detonation and disposal. “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. Reina also reminded the public that fireworks are illegal in the city of Los Angeles.

Police arrested the individual named in the domestic violence warrant at the scene and are questioning others who were inside the home. “You don't know what's in the house next door to you, and it could be something that is very, very dangerous,” McDonnell said.

The incident follows a 2021 explosion in another South Los Angeles neighborhood, where police mishandling of a fireworks detonation injured 17 people and displaced dozens. On June 30, 2021, police found an estimated 32,000 pounds of illegal commercial and homemade fireworks at a home on East 27th Street. The LAPD bomb squad packed nearly 40 pounds of volatile homemade fireworks into an armored containment vessel rated for only 33 pounds. The fireworks were too unstable to move and were supposed to be detonated safely at the scene, but the vessel exploded, damaging 22 homes, 13 businesses, and 37 vehicles. In July 2024, the city agreed to pay more than $21 million to settle related claims.