Los Angeles port fire prompts evacuation
LOS ANGELES - All container terminals at the Port of Los Angeles were shut down, a nearby school was evacuated, and area residents were advised to stay indoors as a precaution over concerns about air quality from a stubborn fire Tuesday at a Port of Los Angeles wharf.
The eight terminals likely will remain closed until the night shift begins at about 5 p.m., port spokesman Phillip Sanfield said. He estimated a few thousand employees, mostly longshore workers, were sent home. At the twin Port of Long Beach, three of six cargo terminals were shut down, City Manager Pat West told City News Service.
The blaze that started Monday night burned a warehouse and forced about 850 people to flee before firefighters brought the bulk of it under control.
However, the fire continued to smolder and send up smoke Tuesday, and Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Ralph Terrazas said it could take until afternoon or evening for crews to fully extinguish it. "This is a very, very difficult fire to fight," he said.
About 700 students and 30 faculty members at Wilmington's De La Torre Elementary School were taken by bus to Olguin High School, on the campus of San Pedro High School, said Monica Carazo of the LA Unified School District.
She said the move came after fire officials grew concerned when shifting winds sent smoke toward the school. Other schools remained open with all outdoor activities suspended.
Sanfield said the amount of smoke had diminished greatly since the early morning, as crews continued to dump water and fire-fighting foam onto hotspots.
The fire smoldered among the wooden pier timbers, which were coated with water-resistant, highly flammable creosote, a byproduct of the coal industry that is used to prevent erosion.
Thick smoke prompted the Los Angeles fire and police officials to advise residents in Wilmington, San Pedro and Long Beach to remain indoors and keep windows closed as a precaution.
Terrazas said hazardous air quality levels were reported "only in the immediate proximity of the fire."
The Port of Los Angeles, along with its twin port in Long Beach, handles 40 percent of America's import trade.
More than 150 firefighters had control of the fire about 2 ½ hours after it broke out Monday night, but stubborn flames underneath the docks proved hard to reach. The fire burned under a warehouse with large metal coils inside. It was contained to about 150 feet of the dock.
Crews attacked the blaze with helicopters and trucks, but fireboats were more effective, and divers in the water helped direct them, fire spokeswoman Katherine Main said late Monday.
Smoke reached two terminals, forcing the evacuation of about 850 workers. No injuries were reported.
Terrazas said investigators determined the blaze was started during a welding operation.
The wharf, which dates to before World War II, is in San Pedro Bay in the Wilmington neighborhood, approximately 20 miles south of downtown Los Angeles.