CA - Fire underneath I-10 freeway, road closed due to structural damage, arson suspected - Los Angeles, 11 Nov 2023

[ifindedout]

10 Freeway fire set with ‘malice intent,’ Newsom says

A massive fire beneath one of the most vital traffic arteries in downtown Los Angeles is believed to have been intentionally set, officials said during a Monday news conference. At 3:30 p.m. Monday…

ktla.com

A massive fire beneath one of the most vital traffic arteries in downtown Los Angeles is believed to have been intentionally set, officials said during a Monday news conference.

At 3:30 p.m. Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass participated in a press conference to discuss the blaze that has crippled the downtown commute for hundreds of thousands of Angelenos.

Newsom began the press conference by describing the fire as being set with “malice intent,” saying the fire burned within the fence line and appeared to be an act of arson.
[...]
The fire was first reported early Saturday around 12:30 a.m. near East 14th and Alameda streets underneath the freeway. It engulfed both sides of 14th Street underneath the 10, eventually melting some of the freeway’s steel guardrails and damaging fire trucks.

Arson is behind the massive fire that shut down the 10 Freeway, officials say

There is no timeline for when the freeway will be reopened, but officials say the work will not happen swiftly.

www.latimes.com

In addition to [wooden] pallets, sanitizer accumulated during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic was stored under the overpass and helped fuel the flames, according to sources familiar with the probe who were not authorized to discuss details of the investigation.
State Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant appealed for witnesses to call a tip line with information and noted those tips could be given anonymously.

“We have identified the point of origin of the fire,” Berlant said. He would not provide further detail, saying the investigation was ongoing. Berlant said investigators had dug through the rubble for evidence and canvassed the neighborhood for witnesses.

Officials said the property where the fire broke out was being leased by Calabasas-based Apex Development Inc., which was subleasing the storage site under the overpass without permission from state and federal agencies. The company stopped paying rent, according to Newsom, and had been out of compliance with its lease agreement.

 

[mickey2942]

Really interesting. How many other interstates have junk yards under the highway? And just a match, could snarl travel in the area for months, if not years. How many of these places are just "invisible", we drive past them, over them, every day, often 2 or 3 times a day, and never really notice the potential danger.

 

[ifindedout]

Really interesting. How many other interstates have junk yards under the highway? And just a match, could snarl travel in the area for months, if not years. How many of these places are just "invisible", we drive past them, over them, every day, often 2 or 3 times a day, and never really notice the potential danger.

More common than many of us think. In 1996, there was a tire fire underneath I-95 in Philadelphia:

Two decades ago, 10,000 tires caught fire in Port Richmond and melted part of I-95

The perpetrators were apparently trying to be cheap.

billypenn.com

Twenty-two years ago, a giant tire fire ravaged a Port Richmond block. The aftermath included prison time and a several-month shutdown of four miles along I-95.

[...]
On March 13 of [1996], a fire erupted on a 500-square-foot lot where a pile of tires was being illegally stored under I-95.

According to the New York Times, which called the incident “suspicious” from the get-go, the blaze then spread to three adjacent buildings owned by the Philadelphia Tire Disposal Company. It burned for five hours, sent up smoke plumes visible for 30 miles, and reached a whopping eight alarms before the 180 firefighters called in managed to bring it under control.

Also this in Atlanta, in 2017:

Interstate 85 bridge collapse - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

I lived in LA during and after the Northridge earthquake in 1994 and the I-10 was down and unusable for a good bit after that and what a nightmare it was to travel to work and back. As if traffic already wasn't a nightmare there. This is really awful and I am not sure those of us who don't live there realize the impact this will have.

 

[ifindedout]

Damage not as serious as feared, can be repaired rather than replaced.

Caltrans Launches Repairs to Reopen Fire-Damaged LA Freeway

California officials say the fire-damaged section of Interstate 10 in LA will not need to be rebuilt and could be open to traffic in about a month.

www.enr.com

“This will not be a demo,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said during a press conference at the site on Tuesday morning. “We will not need to demolish and replace the I-10, so we will continue the kind of repairs you see being done and continue a shoring plan.”

[...]

With shoring of the bridge continuing, Caltrans expects to reopen the freeway to traffic on four of the five lanes in three to five weeks. Repair work will continue after that point, involving intermittent nighttime closures, officials said. A timeline for the full repair work has not been determined.

Engineers analyzed core samples of the damaged columns and bridge deck in order to make the decision to surgically repair the elevated freeway instead of replacing it. Caltrans continues to conduct safety testing and evaluation of the structure.

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

sounds like they are really on top of this - so impressed actually, great press conference at noon, they know what they're doing, good to see this strong and quick plan of action. They said anyone can watch the repairs 24/7 at Fix the 10 | Caltrans

 

[Irishknit]

sounds like they are really on top of this - so impressed actually, great press conference at noon, they know what they're doing, good to see this strong and quick plan of action. They said anyone can watch the repairs 24/7 at Fix the 10 | Caltrans

I think they are taking the cue from Philadelphia last fall/winter when an fiery accident closed a major route. They had repairs going 24/7 with cameras on so the public could watch. They finished early.

 

[cvaldez1975]

I lived in LA during and after the Northridge earthquake in 1994 and the I-10 was down and unusable for a good bit after that and what a nightmare it was to travel to work and back. As if traffic already wasn't a nightmare there. This is really awful and I am not sure those of us who don't live there realize the impact this will have.

yes, lawds, its right near the junction of 10, 5, 60, and 101 going north. its gnarly on a good day.

 

[ifindedout]

POI

I-10 freeway in Los Angeles reopens; search for person of interest in fire continues

Authorities are seeking to identify a person of interest in a fire that damaged a large portion of the 1-10 freeway near downtown Los Angeles last week.

abcnews.go.com

Cal Fire released photos of a person of interest sought in the alleged arson. The individual was described as a man of unknown race, approximately 6' tall and 170 to 190 pounds. The person was captured on surveillance footage wearing a black hoodie, blue shorts, grey shoes, a green scarf, a knee brace on his right knee, and a dark backpack.

"The subject appeared to have visible burn injuries on his left leg," Cal Fire said in an alert on Saturday.

 

[ifindedout]

The 10 reopened today.

10 Freeway reopens but there’s still work ahead

Commuters were able to hop on the 10 Freeway Monday morning after it reopened ahead of schedule Sunday but officials say more work needs to be done. Experts initially believed it would take m…

ktla.com

Experts initially believed it would take months to open the freeway after a pallet fire erupted on Nov. 11, closing the roadway from Alameda Street to Santa Fe Avenue.

That estimate was later revised to three to five weeks before it ultimately opened in just eight days.

Officials say the rapid opening was made possible by several factors.

• Better structural testing results than were expected following the fire
• Rapid debris removal
• Good coordination between state, local and federal government officials
• Crews working around the clock

 

[ifindedout]

Final report in link in quote below (6.8 MB, too big to bring here)
https://ktla.com/news/local-news/in...ent-practices-contributed-to-10-freeway-fire/
The Office of the Inspector General of the California Department of Transportation has released its final report on the 10 Freeway fire, and the findings indicate “numerous problems” and concerns over how Caltrans regulated the space under the overpass.

According to the Inspector General’s audit, which was published on May 30, Caltrans did not conduct required annual inspections of the property nor did it fully document inspection-related activity before the Nov. 11, 2023, fire that led to the vital stretch of freeway through downtown Los Angeles being completely shut down.

In the 15 years they rented the property, Caltrans only conducted five annual inspections, leaving the equivalent of a decade-long gap “without having performed any meaningful oversight,” the Inspector General’s office said.