Caltrans crews remove flammable materials weeks after inferno under 10 Freeway in downtown LA

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Nearly a month after a massive fire prompted the closure of the 10 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles, Caltrans crews continued to remove flammable materials from underneath the busy interstate.

Overnight Wednesday and into Thursday morning, workers were seen clearing out wooden and plastic pallets from a commercial property on 17th Street, between Naomi and Hooper avenues. Several abandoned vehicles were also towed away.

The cleanup operation was apparently prompted by the raging arson fire that engulfed two pallet yards under the freeway in the early morning hours of Nov. 11, leading to a weeklong closure of all eastbound and westbound lanes.

Before the fire, the state of California had sued the company the leases the property. The lawsuit accused the property of failure to pay rent and violating the terms of its lease, including subleasing the property and other businesses and allowing flammable materials to be stored on the land. An annual survey by Caltrans showed a number of fire and safety violations, officials said.

According to a Los Angeles City Fire Department survey, there are more than 20 properties that pose a similar threat, stretching to parts of the San Fernando Valley, the Long Beach area and Downtown Los Angeles.

An attorney for the company said it was not to blame for the fire, adding that improvements to the property were made before the incident.

California Secretary of Transportation Toks Omishakin noted that storage yards under freeways are common in the state and across the U.S., a practice that California officials are now reevaluating.

Sometime Thursday, Caltrans is expected to provide more information about the materials that were removed this week.