Crime & Safety
Firefighters Battle Trash & Brush Fire; Suspect In Custody
Los Angeles firefighters are moving into defense mode and report hearing multiple explosions at the fire in Wilmington.
WILMINGTON, CA — A man was taken into custody in connection with a fire that broke out at a shipping container yard in Wilmington Wednesday.
Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters responded at about 3:10 p.m. to the grass and rubbish fire that was burning near multiple containers in the yard at 1420 Alameda St., near Pacific Coast Highway, according to the department's Nicholas Prange.
Reports of loud explosions heard near the scene of the fire prompted the LAFD to dispatch a hazmat team to the yard along with 88 firefighters, who kept the fire contained to the yard and doused the blaze by about 4:10 p.m.
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No injuries were reported and no structures were damaged in the fire, Prange said. LAFD hazmat teams determined the loud sounds reported were tires exploding rather than a more dangerous or toxic substance.
Los Angeles Police Department Harbor Division officers later took a man into custody in connection with the fire, ABC7 reported. His name and the charges he was facing, if any, were not immediately released.
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The cause of the fire was under investigation.
People reported seeing smoke billowing from the Palos Verdes Peninsula and in other parts of the South Bay.
- City News Service and Patch Editor Nicole Charky contributed to this report.
Editor's Note: This story was updated at 10:26 p.m. with additional information throughout.
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