County Warns Residents to Handle Fireworks Safely

Public safety officials Friday urged Southlanders to be careful when using fireworks as the Fourth of July approaches.

All fireworks -- even sparklers -- are illegal in the city of Los Angeles, "and have been since World War II," according to Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

However, fireworks are legal in some areas of the county, and officials asked people to be careful when using them.

"I don't consider any firework to be safe or sane," Scott Miller of the county fire department told CBS2.

"Ninety percent of all of our victims every year are from 'safe and sane' fireworks," Miller said. "A sparkler for example -- things that people assume are very harmless -- (burns) at 1,200 degrees."

A list of those communities where fireworks are legal is available on the website www.fire.lacounty.gov  and clicking on "fireworks safety." A list of professional fireworks shows around the county is also available on the website.