La Crescenta preps for big fireworks show, fire officials renew safety warnings

Public safety officials are urging motorists to exercise extra caution when taking to the roadways. A special Los Angeles County drunk driving task force will stage sobriety checkpoints and deploy extra patrol cars Tuesday night and Wednesday in Glendale and elsewhere.

Other common safety hazards on the Fourth of July include improperly handled barbecue coals and unsupervised pools, Godfrey said. Coals should be left in the barbecue for several days until completely extinguished, he said.

“We have had cases in past years where we have people take coals out of the barbecue, put them into a bag, put the bag in a trash can and put the trash can in the garage and the garage catches fire,” Godfrey said.

In addition, all bodies of water, no matter how small, should be supervised, he said.

“If you are going to have a large group, make sure someone is watching the small children because it is too easy to lose track of them,” Godfrey said. “We don’t want any tragedies this week."

Twitter: @megankoneil