Firefighters battle a blaze in The Bike Palace bicycle shop in San Pedro on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Firefighters battle a blaze in The Bike Palace bicycle shop in San Pedro on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Bicycles burn as firefighters battle a blaze in The Bike Palace bicycle shop in San Pedro on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Firefighters battle a blaze in The Bike Palace bicycle shop in San Pedro on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Firefighters battle a blaze in The Bike Palace bicycle shop in San Pedro on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Firefighters battle a blaze in The Bike Palace bicycle shop in San Pedro on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Firefighters battle a blaze in The Bike Palace bicycle shop in San Pedro on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Firefighters battle a blaze at The Bike Palace bicycle shop in San Pedro on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Firefighters battle a blaze in The Bike Palace bicycle shop in San Pedro on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
A firefighter runs with a rotary saw as a fire tears through The Bike Palace bicycle shop in San Pedro on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Firefighters battle a blaze in The Bike Palace bicycle shop in San Pedro on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
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Firefighters battle a blaze in The Bike Palace bicycle shop in San Pedro on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
An intense and heavy blaze raced through Pacific Avenue businesses in San Pedro late Tuesday night, Dec. 23, causing heavy damage to one of the town’s mainstays, The Bike Palace, 1600 S. Pacific Ave., Los Angeles fire officials said.
Los Angeles firefighters battled the blaze for two hours and saved the majority of another business, International Motors. The flames exploded through the roof of the connected single-story commercial structure in the 1600 block of South Pacific Avenue, the Los Angeles Fire Department said in a Thursday, Dec. 24, press release.
LAFD Assistant Chief Paul Pham, the incident commander, officially declared the fire out at 11:02 p.m., two hours after the initial dispatch, the press release said. There were no reported injuries to firefighters or civilians.
Among major concerns, however, were at least 30 lithium-ion batteries located at The Bike Palace, which required specialized handling and monitoring to prevent hazardous reignition, LAFD said.
Inspectors from LAFD’s Certified Unified Program Agency were on scene to oversee the identification and safe management of those hazardous materials, the press release said.
After launching an initial interior offensive attack, the release said, the department reported that firefighters had to transition to a defensive operation as the fire grew more intense and the structural integrity of the roof became compromised. That tactic prioritized firefighter safety, and relied on ladder pipes and heavy stream hand lines to drown the fire from the exterior.
Thick smoke drifted toward an adjacent apartment building, the release said, and Los Angeles Police Department officers conducted door-to-door notifications advising residents to shelter in place.
Crews returned to an offensive posture once the fire was mostly suppressed, which allowed firefighters to enter the interior and reach isolated pockets, pushing the fire toward the center of the building for final extinguishment, the release said.
The fire, according to the release, continued to burn within isolated pockets along the roof in the auto repair/sales business. Firefighters performed a dual role mission, with some crews chasing down the fire while others obtained keys to the cars remaining inside to move and protect them from smoke and water damage.
LAFD is investigating the cause of the fire.