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Update at 11:35 a.m.:

Crescent Fire and Rescue Chief Kevin Carey said multiple people were transported to the hospital due to the fireworks explosion at South Beach Thursday evening.

This includes the little boy who was critically injured, Carey said.

The fire chief said his department responded to dozens of incidents Thursday evening and at night for fireworks disposal, bins on fire, unattended beach fires and other calls for service.

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Original Post:

An explosion of fireworks at South Beach injured about 14 individuals at about 10:25 p.m. Thursday, prompting emergency personnel to declare a multi-casualty incident, according to Crescent Fire and Rescue Chief Kevin Carey.

The victims varied in age, though one was a small child who was flown to another hospital for a higher level of care, Carey told the Wild Rivers Outpost on Friday.

According to Carey, the ignition of one firework led to the explosion of a larger display, which spread to other combustibles in the vicinity. The 14 individuals were injured by the exploding debris, he said.

Multiple agencies, including Crescent City Fire and Rescue, the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office, California Highway Patrol, Crescent City Police Department, Del Norte Ambulance, Cal-Ore Life Flight and Fortuna Fire, which was covering the local CalFire station, responded. The authorities shut down U.S. 101 during the incident, according to Carey.

A GoFundMe campaign has been created for the 3-year-old boy who was struck by a mortar during the incident. His aunt, Suzanna Church, wrote that the boy’s lung collapsed, which caused his heart to stop beating.

He has burns on the inside and outside of his body, Church writes on the GoFundMe page. She said he will undergo surgery and other life-saving measures.

“At the moment there is no answer to if he will wake up, and if he does, what state his brain will be in considering he did not have a heartbeat for an extended amount of time,” Church wrote.

So far, the GoFundMe has raised $3,188 of a $5,000 goal.

The Wild Rivers Outpost will update with more information.

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