Danny Trejo Gets in Fight at 4th of July Parade Outside Los Angeles

Danny Trejo got seriously heated during a Fourth of July parade ... and it had nothing to do with the hot weather.

The actor found himself in an altercation at the Sunland-Tujunga, California parade commemorating America's birthday ... though there was nothing celebratory about this incident.

Check it out ... Danny was beefin' with locals at the event after his vintage car was targeted by a rogue water balloon. Sources tell TMZ ... Danny and co. freaked out over the water balloon and got out of the car ... but confronted the wrong people.

A brawl soon broke out -- but, as you can see in the video, Danny was held back by a number of gentleman.

The scuffle didn't last long, however ... as several onlookers screamed that children were present -- though, that didn't stop Danny from yelling at the culprits.

Law enforcement tells TMZ … a radio call came in about a big fight ... but the crowd had already dispersed, so no arrests were made.

Danny shared a similar sentiment ... telling TMZ he was hit with the water balloon for no reason at all. Though he's physically fine after the encounter, he's feeling sad the situation happened in the first place ... as he had nothing but love for the parade.

Danny called the water balloon drama "childish," and slammed the people who threw it at him as "cowards." Telling us that some people throwing balloons were in their 30's or so.

Fans have been left divided over the incident ... with some coming to Danny's defense, while others said the water balloon toss was just a bit of fun.

Still, it's been a tough week already for Danny, who announced on Monday the death of his beloved chihuahua, named Dixie.

He added ... "Hold your babies tight for me please. Today I lost my little Dixie Wixie."