Firefighters Battle Fire Along Ocean Front Walk In Venice

VENICE, CA — More than 100 firefighters knocked down a large fire at a vacant commercial building in Venice early Wednesday that started at a homeless encampment and spread, Los Angeles Fire Department officials reported.

The flames and smoke were reported at 6:19 a.m. at a two-story, 6,952-square-foot building at 723 S. Ocean Front Walk, near Park Avenue, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said in a statement. No injuries were reported.

After two hours and 17 minutes, the fire was knocked down at the 68-year-old building, Humphrey said. LAFD investigators were arriving to examine the area.

The structure was heavily damaged and is now unstable, according to the LAFD. No damage estimate was immediately available.

The fire started at a homeless encampment north of the building, extending into and heavily damaging the location, Humphrey said.

"Any contents within the heavily damaged and now unstable fire building have yet to be identified," he said.

The fire also briefly threatened to damage two buildings nearby, including at least one residence, but firefighters were able to stop it, Humphrey said.

People were evacuated at adjacent buildings near the fire as a crowd gathered on the sand to watch firefighters and the tall flames.

Alexander Poe lives off the boardwalk in Venice and has asked city leaders to help protect both housed and unhoused people living in the area, citing concern over recent fires at encampments throughout the pandemic.

“This was the site of the biggest, most established camps that moved in when [L.A. City Councilman Mike] Bonin stopped moving camps,” Poe said. “I’ve seen his 'voluntary cleanups,' which do absolutely nothing to mitigate fire risks when people only give up a small amount of trash. This fire is a failure of Bonin’s policies and was something firefighters have said for months will happen.”

Patch reached out to Bonin's office for comment on the recent fires and homeless encampments.

firefighters battling huge fire in Venice #oceanfrontfire #venice #losangeles pic.twitter.com/7qR819TFna
— Nicole Charky (@NicoleCharky) January 13, 2021

very large fire here in Venice. check out the breaking news story and see more photos https://t.co/yIUOnhuGvl pic.twitter.com/aSgB6SJURz
— Nicole Charky (@NicoleCharky) January 13, 2021

Flames and smoke are billowing through the roof at a large fire in Venice. People are gathering to watch @LAFD firefighters battle the flames on the sand. @LAFDtalk #Venice #venicefire #oceanfrontwalkfire #LosAngeles

More info:https://t.co/ApwEpM5fgt
— Nicole Charky (@NicoleCharky) January 13, 2021

LAFD Alert- Venice Greater Alarm Structure Fire 800 S Ocean Front Wk MAP: https://t.co/c57tU8c047 FS63; Defensive operations. DETAILS: https://t.co/CdGVKNLgKM
— LAFD (@LAFD) January 13, 2021

Fire in Venice, may have started as a homeless encampment, you can see the smoke for miles! ⁦@MarkKonoSky5⁩ live ⁦@KTLAMorningNews⁩ pic.twitter.com/SBy9diF2iu
— Ginger Chan KTLA (@ktlagingerchan) January 13, 2021

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Editor's Note: This story was updated at 10:08 a.m. with building damaged, investigation ongoing.

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