Arson likely caused fire that damaged vital artery of Los Angeles freeway, governor says

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Los Angeles drivers are being tested in their first commute since a weekend fire that closed Interstate 10, a major elevated interstate near downtown. The cause of the fire, which spanned about six football fields, remained under investigation. (Nov. 13)

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In this aerial view, traffic is backed up under a closed interstate 10 in the aftermath of a fire, Monday, Nov. 13, 2023, in Los Angeles. Los Angeles drivers are being tested in their first commute since a weekend fire that closed a major elevated interstate near downtown. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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In this aerial view, Interstate 10 is empty due to a closure in the aftermath of a fire, Monday, Nov. 13, 2023, in Los Angeles. Los Angeles drivers are being tested in their first commute since a weekend fire that closed a major elevated interstate near downtown. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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In this aerial view, traffic is backed up under a closed Interstate 10 in the aftermath of a fire, Monday, Nov. 13, 2023, in Los Angeles. Los Angeles drivers are being tested in their first commute since a weekend fire that closed a major elevated interstate near downtown. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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In this aerial view, traffic is backed up near a closed interstate 10 in the aftermath of a fire, Monday, Nov. 13, 2023, in Los Angeles. Los Angeles drivers are being tested in their first commute since a weekend fire that closed a major elevated interstate near downtown. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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The site of a fire is shown under Interstate 10, in an aerial view, Monday, Nov. 13, 2023, in Los Angeles. Los Angeles drivers are being tested in their first commute since a weekend fire that closed a major elevated interstate near downtown. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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This photo provided by the California Department of Transportation shows an early morning fire along Interstate 10 near downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. (Caltrans District 7 via AP)

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This photo provided by the California Department of Transportation shows the damage of columns from an intense fire under Interstate 10 that severely damaged the overpass in an industrial zone near downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. Authorities say firefighters have mostly extinguished a large blaze that burned trailers, cars and other things in storage lots beneath a major highway near downtown Los Angeles, forcing the temporary closure of the roadway. (Caltrans District 7 via AP)

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Los Angeles firefighters mop up damage from a fire that severely damaged a section of Interstate 10 in an industrial zone near downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. Authorities say firefighters have mostly extinguished a large blaze that burned trailers, cars and other things in storage lots beneath a major highway near downtown Los Angeles, forcing the temporary closure of the roadway. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

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Workers stage under a fire-damaged freeway overpass along interstate 10 Monday, Nov. 13, 2023, in Los Angeles. Los Angeles drivers are being tested in their first commute since a weekend fire that closed a major elevated interstate near downtown. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

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Workers stage at the site of a weekend fire under a burned overpass along interstate 10, Monday, Nov. 13, 2023, in Los Angeles. Los Angeles drivers are being tested in their first commute since a weekend fire that closed a major elevated interstate near downtown. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

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Workers begin repairs at the site of a weekend fire which caused the closure of Interstate 10, Monday, Nov. 13, 2023, in Los Angeles. Drivers are being tested in their first commute since a weekend fire that closed a major elevated interstate near downtown. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

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Workers clean the site of a weekend fire which caused the closure of Interstate 10 Monday, Nov. 13, 2023, in Los Angeles. Los Angeles drivers are being tested in their first commute since a weekend fire that closed a major elevated interstate near downtown. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

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The site of a fire is seen under Interstate 10, Monday, Nov. 13, 2023, in Los Angeles. Los Angeles drivers are being tested in their first commute since a weekend fire that closed a major elevated interstate near downtown. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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The area of a fire on Lawrence Street shown below, in a portion of Interstate 10 in Los Angeles, between Alameda Street and Santa Fe Avenue on Monday, Nov. 13, 2023. Los Angeles will be without a section of a vital freeway that carries more than 300,000 vehicles daily for an uncertain amount of time following a massive weekend fire at a storage yard, officials warned Monday. (Dean Musgrove/The Orange County Register via AP)

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A portion of Interstate 10 in Los Angeles, between Alameda Street and Santa Fe Avenue is empty on Monday, Nov. 13, 2023. Los Angeles will be without a section of a vital freeway that carries more than 300,000 vehicles daily for an uncertain amount of time following a massive weekend fire at a storage yard, officials warned Monday. (Dean Musgrove/The Orange County Register via AP)

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The damaged area of a fire on Lawrence Street shown in a portion of the Interstate 10 freeway in Los Angeles, between Alameda Street and Santa Fe Avenue on Monday, Nov. 13, 2023. A large fire broke out under the Interstate 10 Saturday after midnight, fully engulfing multiple pallets, vehicles, and trailers and causing extensive damage to the freeway. (Dean Musgrove/The Orange County Register via AP)

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A portion of Interstate 10 freeway in Los Angeles between Alameda Street and Santa Fe Avenue in empty, on Monday, Nov. 13, 2023. A large fire broke out under the 10 freeway Saturday after midnight, fully engulfing multiple pallets, vehicles, and trailers and causing extensive damage to the freeway. (Dean Musgrove/The Orange County Register via AP)

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Passengers wait for a Metrolink train at Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles on Monday, Nov. 13, 2023. Los Angeles drivers are being tested in their first commute since a weekend fire that closed a major elevated interstate near downtown. Commuters were urged to work from home or take public transportation into downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

By JOHN ANTCZAK, JULIE WATSON and JEFF McMURRAY

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Arson was the cause of a massive weekend fire that charred and indefinitely closed a vital section of a Los Angeles freeway, causing major traffic headaches for hundreds of thousands of commuters, California authorities said Monday.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said investigators were trying to determine if one person or more were involved. He gave no other details.

“I have to stress that we have determined what started the fire,” Newsom told reporters.

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The fire erupted Saturday in two storage lotsf under Interstate 10. Construction materials combusted quickly and the fire grew. It left many columns charred and chipped and the deck guardrails twisted. Crews shored up the most damaged section for the safety of workers clearing the debris. It’s still unclear what structural damage, if any, the blaze caused to the freeway.

Beyond a massive traffic headache, the closure is expected to be felt well beyond the metropolis, including possibly slowing the transport of goods from the twin ports of LA and Long Beach, federal officials have said. The ports handle more than half the goods coming into the country. President Joe Biden had been briefed on the fire.

“It’s disrupting in every way, whether you are talking about traveling to and from work or your child care plans and the flow of goods and commerce, this will disrupt the lives of Angelenos,” LA Mayor Karen Bass said.

Los Angeles residents were urged to avoid travel to the area Monday and to work from home if possible.

“Our streets cannot handle 300,000 cars,” Bass said, referring to how many vehicles use the I-10 stretch daily.

Officials have said the damage is reminiscent of the 1994 Northridge earthquake that flattened thoroughfares. After the quake, it took more than two months to repair Interstate 10 — and that was considered significantly fast.

Newsom said early tests show that the deck “appears to be much stronger than originally assessed.” Concrete and rebar samples taken Monday from the superstructure, decks and columns will help determine “whether or not we’re tearing this down and replacing it, or we’re continuing the recovery and repairs,” he said.

“This isn’t going to be resolved in a couple of days, and it’s not going to take a couple years,” Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt told The Associated Press. “But whether it’s weeks or months, we’re still too early to tell.”

Bhatt said the fiery June 11 crash of a tractor-trailer hauling gasoline in Philadelphia that collapsed an elevated section of Interstate 95, snarling traffic and hurting area businesses, highlights the impact of such disasters not only on a city but on the nation.

“The ports are still open and the goods will still flow, but when you remove a section of the interstate that carries 300,000 vehicles a day, there’s going to be spillover impacts,” Bhatt said. “The concern there is the quicker we can get this open, the faster we can remove an impediment.”

Drivers were tested Monday during the first weekday commute since the raging fire. Some freeway exits backed up as drivers were forced to use crowded surface streets to bypass the damaged freeway stretch south of downtown.

Some routes, however, had lighter traffic, suggesting drivers heeded warnings from the city to make alternate plans. Cellphones blasted Monday with a predawn reminder for residents to plan different routes or expect significant delays.

“Our businesses are just bouncing back from the Covid shutdowns. Business was just getting good,” said Blair Besten, director of LA’s Historic Core business improvement district. She’s worried about the lingering effects of this closure.

Flames reported around 12:20 a.m. Saturday ripped through two storage lots in an industrial area beneath I-10, burning parked cars, stacks of wooden pallets and support poles for high-tension power lines, city fire Chief Kristin Crowley said. No injuries were reported.

At least 16 homeless people, including a pregnant woman, living underneath the freeway were brought to shelters. More than 160 firefighters responded to the blaze, which spread across 8 acres (3 hectares) and burned for three hours.

California Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant said investigators have identified where the fire started and what the cause was after sorting through the rubble for evidence but did not specify what they found. He said there is no suspect information yet. He said they are talking to witnesses, including homeless people and nearby business owners.

Storage yards under highways are common statewide, with the money from the leases going to public transit. Newsom said the practice would be reevaluated following the fire.

The governor said California has been in litigation with Apex Development, Inc., the owner of the business leasing the storage property where the fire started. The lease is expired, Newsom said, and the business had been in arrears while illegally subleasing the space to five or six other entities. “They’ve been out of compliance for some time, that’s why we’re going to court” early next year, he said.

Mainak D’Attaray, an attorney for Apex Development, confirmed the company was in litigation with the state.

“We are currently investigating ourselves what happened at the yard under the freeway. As such, we are not prepared to give an official statement or answer questions until we have determined what actually occurred,” D’Attaray said in an email.

Ertugrul Taciroglu, chair of the civil and environmental engineering department at the University of California, Los Angeles, said part of the challenge is how expensive real estate has become.

“Every piece of land is being utilized, so I can see the pressure or the incentives for making use of these spaces under these highways,” he said.

Two contractors have been hired to clean up the hazardous material and to shore up the freeway, according to California Secretary of Transportation Toks Omishakin.

Repairs will require environmental waivers and federal funding, officials said.

In 2011, a fire from a poorly maintained fuel tanker that burst into flames damaged a stretch of State Route 60 — a key freeway connecting LA with its eastern suburbs — and took six months to reopen at a cost of $40 million.

The city and county of Los Angeles in 2020 agreed to provide housing for almost 7,000 people living under freeways and near exit and entrance ramps. In approving the deal, a federal judge said unhoused residents in those areas face particularly deadly hazards.

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Watson reported from San Diego. Associated Press writer Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report. McMurray reported from Chicago.

JULIE WATSON

A short bio for the author is for testing the ticket,The Los Angeles Angels host the Cincinnati Reds to begin a three-game series.