A massive fire that consumed part of a wharf at the Port of Los Angeles continued to smolder today, as officials advised nearby residents in the Harbor Area and Long Beach to keep their windows closed to avoid the unhealthful smoke.
One school, Sts. Peter & Paul School at 706 Bay View Ave. in Wilmington, was closed for the day. Police officials announced at 6 a.m. that De La Torre Jr. Elementary School at 500 N. Island Ave. in Wilmington would be closed, but an hour later, Los Angeles Unified School District officials said otherwise.
“De La Torre Elementary School will not be closed today despite some early news reports that classes would be canceled due to smoke from wharf fire at the Port of Los Angeles. The school is open and will operate on the regular schedule,” the district said in a statement.
The district said health and environmental experts “have determined that the toxic smoke from the wharf is no threat to the health of students or staff at the school. However, there will be no activities outdoors”
But by 11:15 a.m., Los Angeles Unified School District officials announced that the school was being evacuated because of the smoke. About 700 students and 30 faculty members were to be transferred by bus to the John Olguin High School campus in San Pedro, but would be brought back to De La Torre at 1:19 p.m. for regular pickup by their parents. After-school activities were canceled, district spokeswoman Monica Carazo said.
Longshore employees at several terminals were advised to contact their employers to see whether to come to work. Hillman identified the terminals as TraPac, Yang Ming, China Shipping, Pasha, Evergreen, NYK and APL.
About 8:30 a.m., Port of Los Angeles officials said all container terminals were closed for precautionary reasons because of the poor air quality.
Truck driver Demetrio Beltran of Moreno Valley said the closure could cost him more than $300 a day as he waited in line to drive into Terminal Island to drop off his load and pick up a container.
“The company (I contract with) asked me to wait until the port opened, but I can’t afford to wait around too long,” he said explaining that sitting idle in his truck could cost him hundreds of dollars. As an owner-operator, Beltran pays for his own fuel.
“All the truckers were diverted to other open terminals and that’s caused a big backup,” he said in a phone interview.
By midmorning, smoke appeared to be the biggest problem in the region. The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a smoke advisory for areas near the port, recommending residents who can see or smell smoke to avoid outdoor exposure and activity.
Areas with potential poor air quality include:
• Portions of south coastal areas of Los Angeles County, including Carson, Long Beach, Wilmington, Signal Hill, Lakewood, Cerritos, Artesia, and Hawaiian Gardens.
• Portions of southwest coastal areas of Los Angeles, including Commerce, Compton, Bell Gardens, Downey, Paramount, Bellflower, La Mirada and portions of Cerritos, Whittier, Montebello and Pico Rivera.
• Portions of the north coastal areas of Orange County, including Seal Beach, Huntington Beach and Costa Mesa.
Air quality officials suggested everyone avoid rigorous activity outdoors, and that people with respiratory problems or heart disease, the elderly and children remain indoors with the doors and windows closed.
Air conditioners can be used, but not swamp coolers or fans that bring in smoke from outside.
Los Angeles City Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas said arson investigators determined the blazed started accidentally with a welder’s torch.
The fire that ignited about 6:40 p.m. Monday on Berths 177 and 179 in a 40-acre area where big cargo ships load and unload was contained, but continued to smolder overnight. Firefighters aboard five Los Angeles fire boats and two Long Beach fire boats battled the blaze, along with scuba divers in the water. Terrazas described the wharf as 800 feet long and 50 feet wide. A largely steel 50 feet by 1,000 foot warehouse building sits atop it.
“The wharf was very difficult and continues to be very difficult,” Terrazas said, describing the structure built before World War II as heavy timber with some multiple layers of beams, some as large as 18 inches long and 12 inches thick.
“We used heavy equipment, manual labor, chain saws, things of that nature, to create a fire break on the north side of the wharf,” Terrazas said. “The fire will not be extending to the north.”
This morning, Terrazas said the warehouse remained stable except for a small area. Firefighters were continuing to monitor its stability.
“We anticipate being here for the next eight to 12 hours at a minimum,” he said at 6 a.m. “This is a very difficult fire to fight.”
The chief described the blaze as “deep seated,” and said the wood was treated when it was built with creosote, a chemical producing the heavy, hazardous smoke.
Firefighters monitored the plumes and wind patterns to determine which schools to close. The area of greatest concern was bounded by Anaheim Street to the docks, and Wilmington Boulevard and Henry Ford Avenue. The wind shifted during the night toward San Pedro.
Terrazas said firefighters would continue to monitor the smoke throughout the day and inform the public where it was headed. The smoke was hazardous directly at the fire site, but not farther away, he said.
The U.S. Coast Guard was keeping large ships away from the firefighting effort, but said ships were still arriving at the port.
Update: The fire at the Port of Los Angeles is about 90% contained, the port said in a statement posted to Facebook at approximately 1:30 PDT.
Three terminals at the Port of Long Beach have also temporarily discontinued operations for the first shift today, Tuesday, September 23, due to smoke from the fire at the neighboring Port of Los Angeles. The Port of Long Beach says the affected terminals will reassess the situation later today, and consider reopening for the night shift, which would begin at 6 p.m.
Original: All container terminals at the Port of Los Angeles are closed Tuesday after a ‘stubborn’ fire erupted last night underneath a warehouse on one the port’s wharfs, causing damage and sending toxic smoke into the air.
The Los Angeles Fire Department says it was called at 6:41 PM Monday evening to 802 S Fries Ave in Wilmington where the fire was billowing from under a 150-foot wharf at Berth 179.
An aggressive fire attack was mounted by LAFD’s Fire Boats as divers entered the waters to assault the blaze from below the pier. The LAFD says that firefighters were met with many challenges including the highly flammable creosote soaked timbers supporting the concrete wharf which were inaccessible from land.
The Los Angeles Fire Department says that due to the scope of the fire it has established a unified command with Los Angeles Port Police, United Stated Coast Guard, and the Long Beach Fire Department.
At least two large cargo ships were moved to a safe location as a precaution.
The LAFD says that over 170 firefighters, working quickly by air, land, and sea, contained the bulk of the fire in just under two hours, but the stubborn hard to reach fire smoldered for hours as firefighters worked through the night.
The fire burned under POSHA’s steel warehouse causing collapse of areas of the flooring and large coils of steel to fall into the water. The LAFD reports that a strategic use of a backhoe to create a large trench in the wharf halted the fires progress, which was confined to the wharf and under the warehouse.
The smoke caused the overnight closure of several shipping terminals, leading to the evacuation of over 850 dock workers as a precaution. As of 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, all container terminals at the Port of Los Angeles were closed for precautionary reasons due to air quality. Meanwhile, harbor area residents were advised to avoid the smoke, close windows, and stay inside. At least two schools have been closed Tuesday as a cautionary measure for air quality reasons, the Port of Los Angeles reported.
No injuries were reported.
Reports indicated that the wharf and warehouse have been heavily damaged by the fire.
Photo courtesy LAFD Chief Terrazas via Twitter
The cause of this fire remains under active investigation by the Los Angeles Fire Department Arson Section.
Latest photo below courtesy Port of Los Angeles via Facebook:
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