A state of emergency has been declared after a pallet fire under the 10 Freeway caused damages and backups in downtown Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Caltrans authorities and engineers are working to determine when the freeway will be safe to reopen. Their goal is to open at least one lane on Monday, but continue to assess the damage.
According to Assistant Chief Doug Young with the California Highway Patrol, the incident is going to immediately affect the southbound and northbound Interstate 5, state Route 60, and the US 101 in addition to the 10 on the east end.
Initially reported as a rubbish fire, the incident began at approximately 12:22 a.m. in the 1700 block of E. 14th Street, according to LA Fire Chief Kristin Crowley.
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Fire crews arrived at a 200 by 200 foot storage yard underneath the freeway at Alameda and 14th streets where pallets, trailers and vehicles were on fire.
A SigAlert was issued and the freeway was shut down, causing backups. Caltrans said the freeway would be closed indefinitely, with no exact timeline as to when it would reopen.
The bulk of the fire was extinguished, but there were still pockets of fire that required extensive operations and dangerous conditions, Crowley said.
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As a result of the blaze, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles County.
In a statement released Saturday evening, Newsom said the state is "mobilizing resources & taking steps to ensure any necessary repairs are completed on the I-10 as soon as possible to minimize the impact on those traveling in & around Los Angeles."
LA Mayor Karen Bass also released a statement Saturday, saying in part "I have directed all city departments to immediately plan for how to address increased traffic due to this closure. We are approaching this issue with absolute urgency."
A group of about 160 LA firefighters and 26 companies were on scene Saturday to battle the intense flames.
"It's quite a large population of people experiencing homelessness living out here on these streets and RVs and makeshift homes, and they were all driven back by the heat but none of them luckily were injured," David Ortiz, Public Information Officer for LAFD, said.
There were a lot of combustible materials under the freeway including pallets, shipping containers and vehicles.
Firefighters were spraying over 1,000 gallons of water per minute, to the point where they exceeded the capabilities of their hydrant system, Ortiz said.
There were homeless encampments nearby as well as storage containers. The high levels of heat are what caused structural damage to the freeway as well as partially melted the front of a fire truck.
Ortiz said the fire was so intense that it traveled from one side of the street onto the other and got into another storage yard.
Some of the guard rails on the off-ramp were melted from the heat as well as some pillars of the freeway.
The freeway will remain closed until Caltrans deems the highway safe, LAFD said. Traffic was being diverted eastbound at Alameda and westbound at Santa Fe, LAFD said.
The California Highway Patrol says the closure could last days as city engineers work to determine the structural integrity.
Long-term closures are expected on the eastbound 10, diverting people off at Alameda Street, Young said.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. There were no reports of injuries.
