The settlement goes before the city council three years after the blast. Annette Arreola reports for Today in LA on Tuesday July 2, 2024.
A settlement with residents of a South Los Angeles neighborhood where a botched illegal fireworks disposal operation injured people and damaged homes will be considered Tuesday by the Los Angeles City Council.
The settlement covering about 90% of the individuals from the neighborhood staying at the Level Hotel in downtown Los Angeles will go before the council three years after the June 30, 2021 fireworks explosion during a police bomb squad operation. Seventeen people were injured, 35 properties were damaged and dozens of residents were displaced.
Checks are expected to be issued and the families in the hotel will have up to 90 days to find alternative housing, Angelina Valencia, Councilman Curren Price's communications director, told City News Service. Terms of the settlement have not been disclosed.
"The councilman is committed to treating these victims with respect and dignity, and he has supported them every step of the way," Valencia said in a statement.
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The explosion caught on camera resulted from a bomb squad operation involving roughly thousands of pounds of illegal fireworks found in a nearby home. A man accused of planning to re-sell the fireworks ahead of the July 4 holiday was taken into custody.
The disposal plan was to detonate the fireworks inside an armored truck designed to contain the blast. A report from federal investigators determined the amount of explosive material loaded into the bomb squad truck for detonation was vastly underestimated. Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said human error likely contributed to the explosion.
"We have miscalculations that are significant," Moore, who publicly apologized to residents, said at the time.
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The full federal report found that the team also ignored the warnings of an expert team member who said the cache should be broken into smaller portions.
The explosion led to changes in department policy.
In a news conference Monday, some of the families displaced by the explosion shared their uncertainty about ever returning to their homes. The families with the help of Ron Gochez, a community organizer with Unión del Barrio who has helped organize residents, gathered Monday on the 700 block of East 27th Street, one block east of San Pedro Street, one day after the third anniversary of the explosion to call on Mayor Karen Bass and Price to give them more help in returning to their homes.
Some of the families expressed their concerns about possibly getting evicted from their temporary housing at the Level Hotel. City officials have not informed the hotel of any eviction plans, Valencia said.
"A settlement agreement is currently under consideration by the council, which includes provisions allowing individuals adequate time to transition from the hotel," said Price, whose 9th District includes the affected area. "We understand the importance of allowing people to return to their homes and resume their normal lives, and I am committed to facilitating this process with the utmost care."
Bass and Price have met with some of the families and discussed ways the city can support them.
