Reports of illegal fireworks have declined 75% over the past five years — though those numbers are a little deceiving given a massive spike in complaints in 2020 during the pandemic.
The city reported nearly 2,200 reports of illegal fireworks last year, down from a high of 8,800 in 2020, City Manager Tom Modica wrote in a recent memo.
Last year, the most calls came from a neighborhood just south of Pacific Coast Highway and west of Redondo Avenue, according to a map included in the report. Another area with high call volume was on East Ocean Boulevard east of Cherry Avenue, the report stated.
The number of calls last year is comparable to the average in years immediately before the pandemic, with slightly more than 2,200 fireworks-related calls…