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L.A. COUNTY ON FREEDOM DAY — 2020 has been a lot. Suffice to say, people across the U.S. needed a celebration — and the Fourth of July provided the perfect opportunity.
With fireworks shows canceled, millions flocked to the stores to buy their own in such magnitude that nationwide sales have more than doubled. Some companies have been singlehandedly saved from bankruptcy by the patriotic pyromania, and the U.S. is literally facing a nationwide fireworks shortage. That’s right, we all love explosives so much that the country can’t import enough of them.
Amid a high-danger fire season in California that follows last year’s formidable flames, Los Angeles County announced that all fireworks would be illegal on Independence Day.
And in an expression of true Americana, it seems every resident decided to ignore the directive and light up a hoard of fireworks that turned the night sky into a sea of sparkling flames. Just take a look at this drone footage that shows the conflagration of fireworks in stunning detail.
As NBC Los Angeles reports, LAPD received nearly 2,000 firework-related calls and scrambled to respond, sending out a reminder to not call the emergency line with noise complaints as they investigated reports of bush and housefires.
As self-destructive and defiant as the whole thing is, I can’t help but laugh incredulously at such a quintessential example of America's world-famous, dumbfounding, impressive and hilarious culture. Can anything feel more American than risking setting your own city ablaze and collectively defying authority for pretty explosive lights and a grand old time?
It seems like there’s tea in the harbor and the reckless spirit of “I do what I want in the land of the free” lives on.