Fire sends up black smoke near Wilmington oil refinery
Los Angeles firefighters on Wednesday afternoon battled an outdoor fire that launched a column of black smoke that could be seen throughout much of the South Bay.
The fire broke out at 2:38 p.m. at an industrial facility in the harbor region’s Wilmington neighborhood at 1420 N. Alameda St., near the Marathon Los Angeles oil refinery, according to the L.A. Fire Department.
At 2:40 p.m., officers responded to a report that a man who might have set the fire was spotted in the 1700 block of East Colon Street, said Officer William Cooper, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department.
Officers took the man into custody. Cooper said he could not confirm Wednesday night whether the man had been arrested or would face charges related to the fire.
The fire burned through garbage and grass near shipping containers, firefighters said. At the height of the blaze, 88 city firefighters, joined by county personnel, were deployed. It took 93 minutes to extinguish the flames, firefighters said.
At one point, the department stated that “reports of loud sounds nearby have prompted an LAFD hazardous-materials response.”
Firefighters later said, “Explosions heard early in the incident prompted a hazmat investigation, but those loud noises turned out to be tires exploding rather than something more dangerous or toxic.”
Authorities found welding materials at the scene, but the gas canisters weren’t damaged and didn’t contribute to the fire, officials said.
The blaze was contained to the facility’s outside yard, and no structures were threatened, firefighters said. No injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by the city fire and police departments.