fireworks

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'Vast Majority' of California Evacuees Allowed Home

Crews are continuing to battle Thompson Fire near Oroville

(Newser) - Thousands of people evacuated during a Northern California wildfire were allowed to return home Thursday afternoon as crews continued battling flames amid scorching heat, officials said. Containment of the Thompson Fire near the city of Oroville in Butte County also increased to 29% from 7%, the AP reports. The "...

At Least 23 Dead in Fireworks Factory Blast

Blast almost completely leveled site in central Thailand

(Newser) - An explosion at a fireworks factory in central Thailand killed more than 20 people on Wednesday, according to provincial officials, though the devastation at the scene has made the death toll uncertain. The country's public health ministry put the death toll at 23 Thursday morning, including 16 men and...

Fatal Blasts Hit 2 Separate Sites Housing Explosives

9 are dead after explosion at Thai fireworks warehouse; 8 die in firecracker plant blast in India

(Newser) - A large explosion at a fireworks warehouse in southern Thailand on Saturday killed at least nine people and wounded scores, officials said. The governor of the province of Narathiwat, Sanan Pongaksorn, told public broadcaster Thai PBS that at least 115 people were hurt, and that many were in serious condition....

Why Some Cities Have Ditched Traditional Fireworks

Drones don't leave a haze of smoke behind or increase wildfire risks

(Newser) - Cities including Boulder, Colorado and Salt Lake City, Utah have ditched traditional fireworks for the first time this year in favor of Fourth of July drone light shows, which advocates say are less polluting, safer—and don't stress out every dog in town. Rick Boss, the president of Sky...

One Dead, 9 Injured in Fireworks Blast

It's not yet clear if explosion in western Michigan was part of organized Fourth of July event

(Newser) - A fireworks explosion in western Michigan killed one woman and left nine other people with injuries ranging from critical to minor, the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department said. The explosion happened Monday, but a news release from the department didn't say whether it occurred during an organized July Fourth...

Silly String? Forest Service's Idea for Fourth Doesn't Land

Environmental groups question the alternative to fireworks, but like the bigger message

(Newser) - Smokey Bear's admonition that "Only you can prevent wildfires" remains, in a time of drought, as important to remember as ever. But it's equally true that only you can prevent forests from being covered with Silly String. US Forest Service managers in the drought-stricken Southwest are urging...

Florida Man Set Off a Firework, Lost His Hand

The Broward Sheriff's Office confirmed the Saturday morning incident

(Newser) - July 4 weekend seems to bring with it a great many fireworks and a few gruesome fireworks accidents. The first such accident of 2022 to make national headlines occurred in South Florida, where the Broward Sheriff's Office says it responded to a call around 1am Saturday, reports Fox 35...

Across US, Giant 'Lite-Brite' in Sky to Replace July 4 Fireworks

Drones increasingly being used in lieu of traditional July 4 pyrotechnics due to fire, noise concerns

(Newser) - Goodbye, fireworks finales; hello ... drone formations? That's what multiple cities across the US may be seeing this July Fourth weekend, with traditional pyrotechnics shows replaced with drone light extravaganzas—especially in the Southwest, where just one spark on the drought-affected landscape can set off an inferno. Axios reports this...

Goalie Was at a Coach's Home When Fireworks Killed Him
Goalie's Fireworks Death
Ruled Accidental
updated

Goalie's Fireworks Death Ruled Accidental

No one will be charged in the death of Matiss Kivlenieks, prosecutors say

(Newser) - Update: The death of an NHL goalie in a Fourth of July fireworks accident in the Detroit area has been ruled accidental. No criminal charges will be filed, Oakland County prosecutors announced this week. Matiss Kivlenieks died of chest trauma when he was hit by a fireworks mortar blast in...

Technicians' Gaffe Blamed for Huge LA Explosion

Bomb crew miscalculated the 'explosive weight' of seized fireworks

(Newser) - Los Angeles bomb technicians overloaded a containment chamber with homemade fireworks last month during a detonation, likely causing a catastrophic explosion that injured 17 people and rocked a neighborhood, the police chief said Monday, per the AP . Chief Michel Moore said five members of the department’s bomb squad have...

Columbus Goalie Dies After Fireworks Accident
Columbus Goalie
Dies After
Fireworks
Accident 
updated

Columbus Goalie Dies After Fireworks Accident

Blue Jackets' Matiss Kivlenieks played for Latvia in world championship this spring

(Newser) - Latvia's Matiss Kivlenieks, a candidate to be the Columbus Blue Jackets' future goaltender, died in Michigan on Sunday night after a Fourth of July fireworks accident. He was 24. A medical examiner said Monday that an autopsy determined that Kivlenieks died of chest trauma from an errant fireworks mortar...

Video Captures Los Angeles Fireworks Explosion

At least 16 people injured, 3 seriously

(Newser) - A cache of illegal fireworks seized at a South Los Angeles home exploded Wednesday evening, damaging nearby homes and cars and injuring at least 16 people, three of them seriously, authorities said. Police had called in a bomb squad after a tip led them to seize some 5,000 pounds...

Exploding Fireworks Stash Kills 2 in California

Illegal stash caused massive blast, fire

(Newser) - Two people were killed when a large fireworks stash exploded Tuesday in inland southern California, setting off a series of blasts that rocked the residential neighborhood and sent up a huge plume of smoke, authorities said. Authorities—including the FBI—are investigating the explosion of commercial-grade fireworks in Ontario, about...

Man's Head 'Torn Off' in NYE Firework Incident

Another man died in Germany

(Newser) - A man in eastern France was killed when a New Year's Eve firework exploded after he went back to inspect it, reports the AP . The 25-year-old died instantly in the incident in Boofzheim, close to France's eastern border with Germany, the regional government said Friday. AFP reports his...

As Fireworks Complaints Boom, Theories Are Exploding, Too

Americans are just bored, officials and retailers say

(Newser) - Police in Denver and Syracuse say calls complaining about fireworks being set off are up tenfold this year. Hartford has gone from a few calls a night to 200. New York City had received about 1,000 calls at this time last year; so far in 2020, it's logged...

Trump's Fireworks Display Is a Bad Idea, Expert Says

Conditions are especially dry this year, but Interior Department sees no problem

(Newser) - A fireworks display at Mount Rushmore often is dangerous, one fire expert who knows the place says. But the ponderosa pine forest around the monument in the Black Hills of South Dakota is especially dry this year, the Argus Leader reports, making it "extremely flammable," said Bill Gabbert,...

Record-Setting Firework Turns Sky Red Over Colorado Festival

Team had worked for 7 years toward Guinness recognition

(Newser) - After thousands of hours of building fireworks over seven years—and one failed attempt due to a premature explosion—a team has brought the record for the world's largest firework to Colorado. The explosion turned the sky over Steamboat Springs' winter carnival red on Saturday night and earned a...

Sydney: 'We Can't Cancel' Show Despite Conditions

The city's NYE fireworks display will likely go on

(Newser) - Cancel its world-famous New Year's Eve fireworks show? No way, say Australian officials, despite concerns about holding the event while over 100 wildfires rage across the country, CNN reports. Under pressure to cancel, Sydney's Lord Mayor Clover Moore said she was "moved by the outpouring of support...

Singer Killed in the Middle of Late-Night Performance
Singer Dies in Onstage
Fireworks Explosion
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Singer Dies in Onstage Fireworks Explosion

Joana Sainz Garcia was only 30 years old

(Newser) - A Spanish singer lost her life Sunday when an exploding firework struck her onstage and left the audience in stunned silence, the BBC reports. Joana Sainz Garcia was performing near Madrid with a 15-member group of musicians, singers, and dancers when the cartridge knocked her unconscious at about 2am local...

Crews Dodge Rockets as Fireworks at Stand Explode

No one is injured in South Carolina fire

(Newser) - Storage containers holding fireworks burned and exploded before dawn Thursday in a South Carolina town, forcing firefighters to dodge rockets in flight while they worked. The storage containers outside Davey Jones Fireworks in Fort Mill caught fire about 5:45am, per WSOC , causing shells and rockets to burst out of...

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