A fire burning underneath the 110 Freeway at Channel Street in San Pedro has shut down all lanes in both directions and will require an extended operation as firefighters continue efforts to suppress the blaze, authorities said on Tuesday, May 5.
The fire was first reported about 8:50 p.m. Monday night, May 4, and has led to the closure of the freeway from Channel Street to Harry Bridges Boulevard, Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Lyndsey Lantz said.
When the freeway will reopen was unclear.
“Firefighters moved a lot of debris from that tunnel, however there is a fair amount of construction material, things used to build the freeway that are still burning,” Lantz said. “Those materials cannot be removed.”
LAFD found the remnants of a fire believed to have been started by homeless individuals, Lantz said.
Traffic is diverted from the 110 Freeway at John Gibson Boulevard. (Photo courtesy of
Caltrans)
A Caltrans highway engineer is at the scene and LAFD is proceeding cautiously and prioritizing firefighter safety, while working to extinguish the fire inside the confined space, Lantz said.
The freeway has been shut down since just after 10:45 p.m. Monday night.
No injury had been reported so far.
But it was not known if anyone was in the tunnel at the time the fire broke out, Lantz said.
“We haven’t located anyone in the tunnel, but obviously with such a confined space, I don’t have confirmation of how deep any of our folks have gotten, so that could be an evolving situation as we get to the end of our operations,” Lantz said.
Caltrans and Los Angeles police were on scene helping with traffic control, she said.
City News Service contributed to this report.