Get ready for one crowded, warm 4th of July, Angelenos! Nationwide, AAA is predicting that this holiday weekend might see the most travel volume ever, with some 42.9 million Americans on the move, as Fortune reports. Of those, almost 85 percent will be getting to their destinations by car, so expect the roads to be packed. According to the Automobile Club of Southern California, the most popular destinations for local road-trippers are San Diego, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Santa Barbara and Yosemite. Don't want to be one of those sad fellas on the side of the road on the Grape Vine who you speed right past? The group warns that the drain from blasting the AC might be a cause of any number of car troubles and recommends getting a check-up before hitting the highway.
Overall, it looks like the heatwave may have subsided a little bit going into the holiday weekend, with the current forecast calling for the 4th of July to be sunny and about 80 degrees in LA—but that doesn’t mean it’s totally business as usual. The hot, dry conditions of recent weeks have led some California cities to temporarily ban amateur fireworks out of concern that the stray sparks might set off more fires.
While LA County has instituted no specific new bans for 2016, 49 cities and all unincorporated areas of the county have existing bans on personal fireworks in place. Even in the cities where some are allowed, they’re only legal when purchased from a government-sanctioned vendor and display an official seal.
As the Fire Chief of Pasadena reminded the LA Times, even sparklers, “Burn people seriously and cause fires”—so be safe out there! You would feel really badly if your Independence Day fun started another serious wildfire.
If you have pets, local animal shelters have tips for keeping them from going nuts during fireworks, be they official displays or otherwise. You may want to keep the dogs inside, play calming music and wrap them up in a Thundershirt in advance. If you’re hosting the cook-out, keep any human foods not on their normal diet out of their reach and consider corralling them in a calm, quiet area of the house.
Image: Courtesy weather.com