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Christmas yard light show sparks debate over safety in U.S. California

Xinhua, December 13, 2016 Adjust font size:

As Christmas is coming, families in California, the United States, have started to decorate their yards with lights and holiday displays, sparking concerns about safety.

Robolights, one of the biggest private yard light shows in the United States, opened by Kenny Irwin Jr., a resident in Palm Springs, about 170 km east of Los Angeles, last week for its 30th year, was sued by the local government for 10 violations of life/safety, building and fire code.

Robolights was a massive, colorful display of sculptures and structures Irwin created from recycled materials and draped in 9 million Christmas lights. It was declared by the City of Palm Springs as "unsafe" and "dangerous."

"As we have seen with the tragic Oakland warehouse fire that killed 36 people, cities have a responsibility to ensure life/safety violations are corrected, particularly in a case like Robolights where the public is visiting the property regularly," City Attorney Douglas Holland told CBS Local 2.

On Dec. 2, a fire broke out in a warehouse in Oakland, California, killing 36 people. It was the country's deadliest structure fire since 2003, when 100 people died at a nightclub in West Warwick.

According to The Desert Sun, Irwin worked with a professional engineer to come up with plans that would "bring the structures into compliance with city code." However, the city rejected the plans, which the city officials described as "insufficient."

After that, despite of a dozen citations for violation issued by the city and a total fine of 5,500 U.S. dollars, Irwin pledged that he would still open his Robolights tour daily until Jan. 1 next year.

This deadlock became a hot topic before Christmas in Los Angeles.

"I took my son to see Robolights last year, he loved it. I do not think there are any serious safety issues," Katherine Owen, a resident in Los Angeles, told Xinhua on Monday.

"The city is filing a civil court action instead of shutting it down, which means Robolights does not totally violate (the safety code), I think," Kimberley Bear, a local resident told Xinhua, "so if he can fix whatever the city wants, we can still enjoy Robolights every year." Endi