Southbound lanes of the 110 freeway leading to the Port of Los Angeles reopened Tuesday morning after a full section of the freeway in both directions was shut down overnight due to a tunnel fire, authorities said.
Northbound lanes remain closed until further notice.
The fire began in a tunnel under the freeway near West Harry Bridges Boulevard around 8:50 p.m. Monday and was first reported as a rubbish fire.
All northbound lanes remained closed south of West Channel Street as of 9 a.m. The California Department of Transportation is waiting for the fire department to put out the fire before going in to assess whether it’s safe to reopen the freeway, agency spokesperson Lauren Wonder said. The tunnel was once an access portal used by an oil refinery that closed years ago, Wonder said.
The California Highway Patrol closed all northbound lanes at West Channel Street around 10:50 p.m. and all southbound lanes around 3:30 a.m. at West Harry Bridges Boulevard, CHP Officer Mike Nasir said.
The fire began near a homeless encampment lined with wood, Los Angeles Fire Department Assistant Chief Carlos Calvillo told reporters. Firefighters haven’t been able to get inside the tunnel because of the smoke, heat and intensity. They don’t currently know if anyone is still inside the tunnel, Calvillo said.
“Its really just a fire we have to be patient with,” Calvillo told KTTV. “It’s too dangerous to put firefighters in the tunnel.”
Dark, heavy smoke could still be seen emanating from beneath the freeway around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday and traffic was bumper to bumper to get off of the freeway at the northbound exit.
The Port of Los Angeles has so far been unaffected by the freeway closure, port spokesperson Phillip Sanfield said.