Investigators investigate 110 freeway fire behind mattress, debris found in smoking tunnel
Investigators are still investigating what started the fire under the 110 freeway that blocked traffic near the Port of LA complex.
All northbound lanes between Channel Street and Harry Bridges Boulevard remained closed Wednesday. The fire, which was first reported on Monday at around 8:50 p.m., created major challenges for firefighters throughout the night until the next morning because it was inside a gate full of debris, including a mattress.
Caltrans said in a statement Wednesday that there is no timeline for when the northbound lanes will reopen. Crews have removed the water tunnel and foam used to put out the fire, and will search with drones, robots and eventually, people. Caltrans engineers will assess the structural damage and remove debris, the agency said.
Although it is not yet clear what caused the fire, city officials confirmed that there is a camp for homeless people nearby and firefighters said they saw evidence of the camp when they arrived at the scene. Mayor Karen Bass’ office said the incident shows why she is “determined to end homelessness on the streets, which is often the cause of fires.”
The camp on the trail near the tunnel is visited weekly by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, which said its teams usually find about 10 people. Staff provided homeless people there with a variety of services, including emergency motel vouchers during inclement weather and help connecting to state and county services, spokesman Christopher Yee said in an email.
The last time they visited this camp, on April 29, the team found six people. The camp had been on private property and was moved to its latest location after the owner cleared it, Yee said.
The fire that closed the highway burned inside a tunnel 150 to 200 feet long with a single entrance that measures 4 by 4 feet and was once used by a local oil refinery that closed it, according to the California Department of Transportation. Firefighters filled it with foam and water to extinguish the stubborn flames.
Councilman Tim McOsker, who represents the 15th Assembly District, blamed the fire on the California Department of Transportation in a debate Wednesday, saying the agency has failed in many areas and failed to learn from past events.
The agency apparently knew there were people camping in the tunnel, because they reported earlier that they were cleaning there, McOsker said. And yet they didn’t close the tunnel, he said, and they didn’t make sure it was free of trash and debris. The agency needs to “check all the freeway infrastructure” in LA to make sure that this week’s incident, or the 2023 fire that closed the 10 Freeway, doesn’t happen again, McOsker said.
“I need Caltrans to work and inspect their property,” McOsker said. “Caltrans cannot continue to be in the operational phase and put the city in a position to cover their failure.”
The 2023 fire that closed the 10 Freeway was fueled by pallets stored under the freeway near a homeless encampment, all Caltrans inspectors knew about, The Times previously reported.
On Tuesday, McOsker presented a proposal to the City Council that would direct city agencies to report on Caltrans’ fire prevention work in its area.
On Wednesday, he told The Times that he will introduce another proposal stemming from the fires, this time asking for an analysis of what percentage of vegetation and trash fires occur on Caltrans property. He said he would also like to know if Caltrans has a “plan to resolve the camp” and if not, why.
