LA fire leads to partial freeway closure
On Saturday, Nov. 11, a pallet fire erupted in downtown Los Angeles. The Los Angeles City Fire Department responded to vehicles, trailers, and buildings exposed to fire at 12:22am. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
This led to the partial closure of the 10 freeway, which did not reopen until Nov. 19. Though necessary, the temporary closure inconvenienced many, creating difficulty for individuals to commute to and from work and school.
Though the majority of the fire was extinguished in nearly three hours, considerable damage was done to the overpass. According to USA Today, California Gavin Newsome estimated that the repairs will take between three and five weeks to complete.
Firefighters struggled to reduce the Nov. 11 blaze due to the overpass restricting their access.
This, combined with large gusts of wind, caused the fire to spread to close to eight acres.
The status of the fire rapidly progressed from its report as a rubbish fire to requiring a structure fire response.
As the severity of the report developed, so did its urgency. While the first fire company to arrive at the scene worked to tame the fire, supplementary resources were sent to their aid. Using ladder pipes and heavy stream hand lines, they were able to tame the conflagration.
Since the freeway’s reopening, several local freeway overpasses have gone under evaluation as potential fire hazards. However, at the present moment, students and parents are free to revert to their typical daily routes.
Photo Courtesy of San Diego Union Tribune
