LOS ANGELES – Arson was the cause of a massive fire over the weekend that scorched and inexplicably closed a significant portion of a Los Angeles freeway, causing massive traffic headaches for hundreds of thousands of commuters, California authorities said Monday.
Gavin Newsom said investigators are trying to determine if one or more people were involved. He gave no other details.
“I have to emphasize that we have determined the cause of the fire,” Newsom told reporters.
The fire broke out Saturday in two storage lots under Interstate 10.
The building materials burned quickly and the fire grew. It caused many charred and chipped posts and twisted deck railings.
Crews propped up the most damaged sections for the safety of workers clearing the debris. It remains unclear what structural damage, if any, the fire caused to the highway.
Despite the massive traffic headache, the shutdown is expected to be felt far beyond the metropolis, including possibly slowing freight from the twin ports of LA and Long Beach, federal officials said.
The port handles more than half of the goods entering the country. President Joe Biden has been briefed on the fire.
“It’s disruptive in every way, whether you’re talking about your commute or your child care plans and the flow of goods and commerce, it’s going to disrupt the lives of Angelenos,” LA Mayor Karen Bass said.
Traffic backed up under Interstate 10 closed after fire.AP
Los Angeles residents are urged to avoid travel to the area Monday and work from home if possible.
“Our roads can’t handle 300,000 cars,” Bass said, referring to how many vehicles use that stretch of I-10 each day.
Officials said the damage was reminiscent of the 1994 Northridge earthquake that leveled the road. After the earthquake, it took more than two months to repair Interstate 10 — and that’s considered very fast.
Newsom said preliminary tests showed that the deck “appears to be stronger than originally rated.” Concrete and rebar samples taken Monday from the superstructure, decks and piers will help determine “whether or not we’re going to tear this down and replace it, or we go ahead with rehabilitation and repairs,” he said.
An early morning fire alongside I-10 near downtown Los Angeles on Saturday. Nov 11 California’s Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency to repair bridge structural damage.AP
“This is not going to be resolved in days, and it’s not going to take years,” Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt told The Associated Press. “But whether it’s weeks or months, we’re too early to tell.”
Bhatt said the June 11 fiery crash of a tractor-trailer hauling gasoline in Philadelphia that toppled an elevated section of Interstate 95, snarling traffic and affecting area businesses, highlights the impact such disasters can have not only on cities but on the nation.
“The ports are still open and goods will still flow, but when you remove the interstate that carries 300,000 vehicles a day, there will be a spillover effect,” Bhatt said. “The concern there is the sooner we can open it up, the sooner we can remove the barriers.”
Drivers were tested on Monday during the first weekday commute since the fire broke out. Several freeway exits were backed up as drivers were forced to use congested surface roads to bypass the damaged freeway south of the city centre.
Some routes, however, have smoother traffic, suggesting drivers heed warnings from the city to make alternative plans. Cell phones were blasted Monday with pre-dawn warnings for residents to plan alternate routes or expect significant delays.
“Our business has just recovered from the Covid shutdown. Business is getting better,” said Blair Besten, LA Historic Core business improvement district director. He worries about the lingering effects of this shutdown.
The fire, reported around 12:20 a.m. Saturday, tore through two storage lots in an industrial area under I-10, burning parked cars, stacks of wooden pallets and support poles for high-tension power lines, city fire Chief Kristin Crowley said.
No injuries were reported.
At least 16 homeless people, including a pregnant woman, who were living under the highway were taken to a shelter. More than 160 firefighters responded to the fire, which spread across 8 acres (3 hectares) and burned for three hours.
California Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant said investigators have identified where the fire started and what caused it after sorting through the rubble for evidence but did not say what they found.
He said there is no suspect information yet. He said they were talking to witnesses, including homeless people and nearby business owners.
The fire site is shown below Interstate 10.AP
Storage spaces under highways are common across the state, with money from leases going to public transportation. Newsom said the practice will be reevaluated in the wake of the fire.
The governor said California has entered into litigation with Apex Development, Inc., the owner of the business that leased the storage property where the fire started.
The lease had expired, Newsom said, and the business had fallen into arrears while illegally subletting the space to five or six other entities. “They didn’t comply for some time, that’s why we will go to court” early next year, he said.
Mainak D’Attaray, an attorney for Apex Development, confirmed the company is in litigation with the state.
“We are investigating ourselves what happened in the compound under the highway. Therefore, we are not prepared to provide an official statement or answer questions until we determine what actually happened,” D’Attaray said in an email.
LA firefighters worked to clear an industrial zone and neighboring areas on Nov. 11. 2023.AP
Ertugrul Taciroglu, chair of the civil and environmental engineering department at the University of California, Los Angeles, said part of the challenge is how expensive real estate is.
“Every piece of land is being used, so I can see pressure or incentive to use this space under this highway,” he said.
Two contractors have been hired to clean up hazardous materials and shore up the road, according to California Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin.
Repairs will require environmental exemptions and federal funding, officials said.
In 2011, a fire from a poorly maintained and burning fuel tanker damaged State Route 60 – the main highway connecting LA with its eastern suburbs – and took six months to reopen at a cost of $40 million.
The city and county of Los Angeles in 2020 agreed to provide housing for nearly 7,000 people who live under freeways and near exit and entrance ramps.
In approving the deal, a federal judge said homeless residents in the area face extremely dangerous dangers.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
