By Ricardo Roura
Nov 29, 2023, 9:18 PM EST
The impressive fire that occurred in a passage under Freeway 10 caused serious material damage to the structurewhich forced the closure of vehicular traffic for a few days.
However, the closure of such an important artery in downtown Los Angeles also caused severe disruptions in the daily activities of residents… and that same scenario is at risk of happening again.
Inspectors of the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) They visited 50 steps below, of which They determined that 22 of them could suffer similar incidents to the one that occurred in the early morning of November 11 below the 10 Freeway, in the area of Alameda Street and East 14th Street.
According to fire inspectors, in the 22 identified sites they determined that violated the Health and Safety Code regarding hazardous materials.
A few days after the fire under Highway 10, on Tuesday the 14th, the presence of fire was reported under freeways 105 and 110, a conflagration that was quickly controlled by firefighters.
Among the violations, some of these storage sites received fines for possession of liquid, solid and gaseous products which are not permitted to be stored due to the risk they pose.
It was also determined that the improper storage and use of hazardous materials constitutes a violation of the Health and Safety Code.
The owners of those spaces received violation notices and They have up to 30 days to solve the problems for those who do not comply with the safety standards established by the authorities.
The 22 locations where Los Angeles Fire Department fire inspectors found violations are:
- 1320 Wilson Street
- 2425 Enterprise Street
- 1310 Elwood Street
- Southwest intersection of Lemon Street and Enterprise Street
- 2200 Enterprise Street and Lemon Street
- 2216 Enterprise Street
- 954 West Washington Boulevard
- 16th Street and Trinity Street
- 16th Street and Wall Street
- 17th Street and Grand Avenue
- 1628 South Central Avenue #A
- 1630 South Central Avenue
- 1468 East 17th Street
- 1501 East 17th Street
- 1651 Naomi Avenue
- 1100 East 16th Street
- 1630 South Central Avenue
- Below the Freeway 101/134/170 interchange with Tujunga Avenue
- Freeway 405 / Freeway 110
- Freeway 110 / Channel Street
- Pacific Coast Freeway (Lower)/Alameda Street
- Freeway 110 / Freeway 105
LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley said Locations of properties in violation were forwarded to the State Fire Marshal’s Office to have greater attention to the problem.
“While the state has fire inspection responsibilities on state-owned land, LAFD is committed to working collaboratively with the State Fire Marshal to ensure public safety in Los Angeles,” said Fire Chief Crowley.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass thanked Fire Chief Crowley for the coordination and achievements of this work to “reduce the future risk of a similar incident”.
After the flames forced the closure of the 10 Freeway since the early hours of Saturday, November 11, The crews worked at forced marches to be able to reopen the road starting on the night of Sunday, November 19.
The rapid progress in the work was also thanks to the emergency declaration issued by California Governor Gavin Newsomon the same day the 11th, which facilitated the opportunity to immediately obtain resources to rehabilitate the section affected by the fire.
During the week that the 10 Freeway was closed, drivers had to face days with detours in the areawhich caused delays in travel due to intense vehicular traffic.
“As I said two weekends ago, the reason Freeway 10 was safe and passable for travelers this month, unlike next month, was the brave actions of our firefighters early in the morning of the fire. Now we must continue our work to keep Angelenos safe,” said Mayor Bass.
Keep reading:
· Emergency center opened to support small businesses
· Fruit vendors are impacted by the fire on Highway 10
· Under the microscope, California’s program to rent land under freeways