A person is dead after fireworks detonated in the garage of a house in Simi Valley on Thursday, sparking a fire and sending a large black plume of smoke into the air.
Footage shared with KTLA showed firefighters on scene as the home in the 1600 block of Edmund Street appeared to be fully engulfed in flames.
Andy Vansciver with the Ventura County Fire Department said this incident, categorized as a garage fire with explosions, occurred just after 11:45 a.m.
That fire then spread to the attic and main parts of the house before it was extinguished in about an hour.
Aerial footage from Sky5 showed massive damage to what appears to be the home’s garage, with the roof partially collapsing.
The primary explosion was felt by many in the neighborhood, including Brandon Singer, who told KTLA’s Gene Kang that his wife heard the “huge explosion,” but she initially thought it was an earthquake.
“I checked the charts and all that, didn’t see any earthquake, but then she sent me a picture of this huge plume of smoke,” he said.
Scott Thomson of the VCFD explained just how strong the blast was.
“Panels of the garage door blew all the way across the street into the yard of the neighbor,” he said.
In an update, police said that fireworks were to blame, and one person was dead as a result. The victim’s identity was not immediately released.
Officials had previously said that the person was hospitalized.
Nidia Becerra contributed to this report.
