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California fires may have started due to fireworks on New Year's Eve - WP

California fires may have started due to fireworks on New Year's Eve - WP Photo: The fires in California may have been started by fireworks (Getty Images)
Author: Liliana Oleniak

Large-scale fires engulfed houses in the suburbs of Los Angeles. The cause of the fires could be fireworks launched by locals on New Year's Eve, The Washington Post reports.

According to the agency, the analysis of photos, videos, satellite images, and radio conversations, as well as interviews with witnesses, indicates that the Palisades fire started in an area where firefighters had already extinguished the flames six days ago.

Law enforcement officials inspected the area and questioned locals in search of evidence of what caused the fire.

Analysis conducted by the agency suggests that the new fire started not far from the old one.

According to officials, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating. In a statement, an ATF spokesperson said: “ATF certified fire investigators did an initial survey of the area but the investigation has not begun.” In response to a question about re-ignition as a possible cause, LAFD officials said: “This is an ongoing, active investigation and the team will not comment on an ongoing investigation.”

However, the media learned that the smoke started on a section of the Temescal Range in the Santa Monica Mountains where a previous fire had occurred, which residents believed was caused by fireworks.

The Post identified the New Year's Eve fire scar using false-color satellite imagery taken before and after the fire. This method tracks changes in vegetation on satellite images. Healthy vegetation appears red, while scorched earth appears blue to brown.

Fires in Los Angeles

On January 7, six fires broke out in different parts of Los Angeles. They quickly covered more than 14,500 hectares of territory, which is 2-1/2 times the area of Manhattan.

The next day, a state of emergency was declared in California, and US President Joe Biden canceled his visit to Italy.

The disaster killed at least 11 people and damaged or destroyed 10,000 buildings. Another 13 people are reported missing.