The Los Angeles City Council will consider a settlement Tuesday with residents of a South Los Angeles neighborhood who were injured and had their homes damaged by a botched illegal firework disposal operation.
The settlement, which covers about 90% of nearby residents who were staying at the Rebel Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, is set to be presented to the City Council three years after the June 30, 2021 fireworks explosion, which occurred during a police explosive ordnance disposal unit operation, injured 17 people, damaged 35 buildings and forced dozens of residents to evacuate.
Angelina Valencia, a spokeswoman for City Council Member Karen Price, told City News Service that checks will be issued and the families staying in the hotels will be given up to 90 days to find alternative housing. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
“City council members are committed to treating these victims with respect and dignity and have supported them in every way,” Valencia said in a statement.
The explosion, which was caught on camera, took place during an explosives squad operation dealing with thousands of pounds of illegal fireworks found at a nearby house, and a man was arrested who allegedly planned to resell the fireworks ahead of the Fourth of July holiday.
The defusal plan called for the fireworks to be detonated inside an armored vehicle designed to contain an explosion. Federal investigators’ report found that the amount of explosive material loaded into the bomb squad vehicle for defusal was grossly underestimated. Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said human error likely contributed to the blast.
“There was a serious miscalculation,” Moore said at the time, who publicly apologized to residents.
The federal government’s full report found that the team also ignored warnings from expert team members that the repository should be divided into smaller pieces.
The explosion prompted a change in department policy.
At a press conference Monday, some of the families displaced by the explosion said they weren’t sure they’d be able to return to their homes. With help from Ron Goches, a community activist from Union del Barrio who has been instrumental in organizing residents, the families gathered at 700 East 27th Street, one block east of San Pedro Avenue, on Monday, the day after the three-year anniversary of the explosion, to ask Mayor Karen Bass and Mayor Price for more help in returning to their homes.
Some families feared they might be evicted from their temporary accommodation at the Revel Hotel, though Valencia said city officials had not notified the hotel of any eviction plans.
“The City Council is currently reviewing a settlement agreement, which includes provisions that will allow sufficient time for people to vacate the hotels,” said Councilman Price, whose 9th Ward includes the affected areas. “I understand the importance of people returning to their homes and returning to normal life, and I am committed to facilitating this process with the utmost care.”
Bass and Price met with several families to discuss ways the city can help them.