A rubbish fire that broke out in a tunnel below the Harbor (110) Freeway in Wilmington continued to burn Tuesday and a portion of the heavily traveled freeway remained closed.
The fire was reported at 7:50 p.m. Monday at the scene of an excavation operation beneath the 110 Freeway between Harry Bridges Boulevard and Channel Street, near San Pedro and the Port of Los Angeles.
The freeway was closed in both directions as a result, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The fire is believed to have been started by people living in a homeless encampment. LAFD Heavy Rescue and Urban Search and Rescue crews responded at to the northbound freeway where they found the remnants of a fire, said LAFD spokeswoman Lyndsey Lantz.
By 8:50 p.m. Monday, crews had been on scene for approximately one hour, working to access and suppress fire inside the confined space.
A Caltrans highway engineer was called in and LAFD Incident Command was prioritizing firefighter safety, while working to extinguish the fire during the operation inside the confined space, Lantz said.
At 10:49 p.m. the California Highway Patrol said it shut down the 110 Freeway in both directions.
The north and southbound lanes of the 110 will be closed for an unknown duration, according to the CHP.
No injuries have been reported.
“While firefighters have removed a large amount of debris from the tunnel, burning construction timber and other unmovable materials will require sustained suppression,” Lantz said. “Crews are prepared for an extended operation.”