Los Angeles firefighters quickly put out a garbage fire that was burning next to the 10 Freeway Tuesday night, just days after another fire caused significant damage to the heavily trafficked roadway.
The fire was first reported around 5 p.m. on the 1500 block of South Long Beach Avenue.
Video from Sky5 showed firefighters spraying down the flames as the fire burned near the elevated freeway. The fire appeared to be knocked down in several minutes without any impact to traffic or structures.
According to the PulsePoint app, a service used by the Los Angeles City and County Fire Departments, firefighters reported to a handful of “refuse fires” in that same general area on Tuesday.
Earlier on Tuesday, firefighters had to extinguish a blaze burning below another L.A. freeway, this time in South Los Angeles near the interchange of the 105 and 110 freeways.
Angelenos and fire officials are on heightened alert this week after a devastating fire significantly damaged the 10 Freeway, causing a closure of the vital downtown thoroughfare over the weekend. The freeway is expected to remain closed for several weeks, but City and State officials warned that the alternative may have been a complete demolition.
On Monday, California Governor Gavin Newsom said the fire beneath the 10 Freeway was set with “malice intent,” and said authorities are searching for an arson suspect.
Newsom said the state was involved in ongoing litigation with the prior lessee of the space beneath the roadway, whom he called “bad actors.” The Governor has stopped short of implying any connection between the company that leased the space and the destructive blaze.
Traffic near downtown has been crippled by the closure of the 10 Freeway, and any additional incidents near the city’s roadways will be watched closely and with increased scrutiny by both city officials and the commuting public.
