KTLA

Illegal fireworks suspected in fire that torched Corona yard

A fire possibly caused by fireworks torched the backyard of a home in Corona Tuesday night.

Residents say a neighbor was setting off illegal fireworks during a 4th of July party when the blaze began. Flames could be seen burning 20 feet into the air in a video shared with KTLA.

Barbara Tucker’s neighbors alerted her of the blaze around 9 p.m.

Ring video provided by Barbara Tucker shows firefighters responding to a blaze at her Corona home on July 4, 2023. (KTLA)

What’s left are blackened tree stumps and damage to the south side of Tucker’s home of 45 years. Trees she planted when she first moved in are now gone.

“Now look at it, it’s destroyed by fireworks,” Tucker told KTLA.

Tucker’s Ring camera captured some of the chaos as neighbors rushed to help placate the flames.

Moments later, firefighters arrived and told Tucker and her husband they had to leave.

Despite warnings ahead of the holiday on the dangers of setting off illegal fireworks, the blaze was one of many to break out in the Inland Empire.

Flames shot into the sky during a blaze possibly caused by fireworks in Corona on July 4, 2023. (AG)

The Bolo Fire erupted around 9:30 p.m. in Beaumont. The blaze burned at a slow rate of spread on a hillside, and the cause is still under investigation.

Additionally, a line of fire burned through dry brush when a blaze erupted on Mt. Rubidoux around 9:15 p.m., after a professional fireworks show. It was put out by 3 a.m. Wednesday.