LOS ANGELES (KNX 1070) -- Some residents of South Los Angeles whose homes were damaged when the LAPD detonated tons of fireworks in a residential area rallied downtown Monday night.
Victims of the East 27th Street blast who are still living in city-paid hotels said repairs are moving too slowly. It’s been weeks since the June 30 blast. But they said their homes are still uninhabitable. Resident Gisela Echegaray spoke through an interpreter.
“She’s saying it’s nice to be there, but they don’t know how long they can stay there. So that’s a big concern of all of the families staying at the hotel, there’s over 20 of them,” said Echegaray’s interpreter.
The explosion injured 17 people and damaged 37 vehicles, 22 residences and 13 businesses. It also left many residents shell-shocked.
A preliminary investigation into the blast revealed the LAPD severely miscalculated the weight of the explosives being detonated. LAPD Chief Michel Moore said technicians estimated 16 pounds of explosives were being detonated in their specially designed containment unit.
An analysis by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives revealed that 42 pounds of net explosives were detonated, well above the unit’s capacity.
Angelina Valencia from the office of City Councilmember Curran Price responded saying the city needs residents to sign off on repairs and some have not.
“[The families] will have housing, and it has been arranged through his office as long as their homes are being repaired,” said Valencia.
Price announced a $1 million emergency fund in July using his office's Environmental Equity and Reimagining Public Safety dollars to provide long-term housing, repairs and financial assistance to victims of the blast.
"It should never have happened in the first place and it is clear that the city is at fault in this explosion. But the damage and destruction has been done, and it is now time to restore our families and rebuild our community," Price said.
The residents also asked for the incident report, so they can move forward with lawsuits.
