Most northbound lanes of 110 Freeway reopen in San Pedro after tunnel fire caused traffic mess
SAN PEDRO, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Most of the northbound 110 Freeway is back open in San Pedro after a trash fire broke out in a tunnel underneath the roadway on Monday night.
The tunnel fire was put out on Tuesday, but the cleanup continued to cause traffic delays. Inspections are now being done to evaluate any possible structural damage.
The fire broke out on Monday around 9 p.m. At one point, the fire shut down both sides of the freeway as firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze, until the southbound lanes were reopened on Tuesday morning.
The fire is now out, but Caltrans says a hazardous waste crew is still working to safely clear out the debris that burned.
Video shows crews using a robotic dog to go inside the tunnel and assess the damage. It's a tactic fire crews use when it's harmful for humans to enter a space.
"A significant amount of debris inside. A lot of that, we were told, was left over from the actual construction of the tunnel years ago. They poured the forms for the concrete. They left all that construction debris in there. That's normal, how they did construction. It was never meant to be a pedestrian tunnel. No one was meant to go in there, so they left a lot of that debris in there," Capt. Jacob Raabe with LAFD said. "Again, utilizing those drones and the robots, we're hoping to get in there quickly and be able to get a good visual for the Caltrans engineers to be able to give a good assessment."
After it became safe enough to enter the tunnel to assess the integrity of the freeway, Caltrans engineers determined that it was safe to open the 110 Freeway in both directions.
By 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the first three lanes of the northbound side of the 110 Freeway finally reopened. All southbound lanes of the freeway are also open.
A comprehensive search of the tunnel was conducted with the assistance of drones, robots, hazardous materials teams and Urban Search and Rescue teams, according to Caltrans.
Caltrans said one northbound lane will remain closed as emergency personnel remain on site. The tunnel has been cleared of the large volume of water and foam used to extinguish the blaze.
L.A. Councilmember Tim McOsker is calling for stronger safety measures in fire detection, with a motion for Caltrans and the city to address the ongoing risk to freeway infrastructure.
ABC7's investigation team looked into how many homeless fires have been reported and found that more than 70,000 have been reported across L.A. since 2020. In the area where this week's fire broke out, 31 homeless and encampment fires have been reported in the last four years.
The investigation into how the fire started is ongoing. The tunnel is near a homeless encampment and fire officials said a lot of the items that burned are from that encampment - such as mattresses and clothing.
