Firefighters in Southern California have been scrambled to respond to several hundred fires that broke out across the state as illegal fireworks lit up the skies in celebration of Independence Day over the weekend.
According to local media, fire departments have seen a spike in the number of calls in the past few days as local residents complained about tree, bush and roof blazes.
The fireworks were banned for the commemorative event as Los Angeles county is reporting the highest number of total coronavirus cases of any county in the United States: 107,826, according to Johns Hopkins University, prompting social-distancing concerns.
In the city of Los Angeles, where fireworks are illegal, the fire department had to contain some 29 structure fires, 12 brush fires, 17 grass fires, 65 tree fires, and 116 rubbish fires as of 5 July, according to their official Instagram account.