Family in Southern California say fireworks cause of devastating house fire

A family in the Antelope Valley whose home erupted in flames over the weekend said they believe the cause of the devastating blaze was unsanctioned fireworks being set off in the area.

Crews with the Los Angeles County Fire Department responded to the June 30 fire on West Avenue 012 in Palmdale and said firefighters found the house fully engulfed in flames, as well as a one-acre brush fire.  

Now, Irma Campos and her family are sleeping outside the charred remains of their home in an RV lent to them by a neighbor.  

“It’s going to take us a year to come back from this,” she told KTLA’s Angeli Kakade.  

Campos said that unsanctioned fireworks in Palmdale have been a problem for years, saying that on Friday and Saturday, explosions were coming from everywhere. It wasn’t until Sunday though, that she says a firework landed in her backyard and caused a massive fire.  

“We opened up the curtain and the fire was just coming right at us,” she explained.  

Footage of the fire posted to the Citizen App shows the dark, billowing smoke as flames overtook her home. Campos said her first thought was to run.  

“Mija, let’s run,” she said at the moment. “We started running and my other daughter was here, and we grabbed each other and started running with no shoes. We just ran.”  

Just last week, Palmdale announced a ban on the sale of illegal fireworks, warning residents that only fireworks labeled “safe and sane” are allowed.  

“It’s a lot of desert landscape and those fireworks traveling, exploding and their embers coming down start fires, catch houses on fire, brush on fire,” Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Erynn Velazquez told KTLA. 

Setting off illegal fireworks can come with fines of more than $17,000 and criminal charges, and while Deputy Velazquez said they’re adding additional patrol for the Fourth of July holiday, the damage has already been done to the Campos’ home.  

“Why did they do it? That’s my biggest thing, why?” Campos said. “I wanted the people who did do it to see what happens. They might see it on TV. This is what you did to me. I no longer have a house.” 

Fire officials have yet to confirm that fireworks caused the destructive fire at her home. The case remains under investigation.  

In the meantime, a GoFundMe has been organized to help the Campos family recover from the loss of their home.