A massive fire has erupted at an industrial facility in South Gate, prompting authorities to issue a shelter-in-place orders. While no injuries have been reported so far, the videos showing thick black smoke rising off the industrial area and covering the skies shows the extend of the fire around Garfield Avenue and Imperial Highway.
Since the fire erupted near homes, some nearby residents have reported power outages after the fire broke. Southern California Edison reported a fire-related power outage affecting 493 customers near the fire.
The fire department climbed nearby roofs and structures to douse the fire in South Gate.
The cause of the fire or extent of the damage have not been ascertained yet.
LA County Fire Department wrote on X, “2ND ALARM COMMERCIAL BUILDING FIRE | FS57 | 11800 block Industrial Ave South Gate | At approx 2:40 p.m., #LACoFD arrived on scene of a one story building with smoke and fire showing. Crews are currently in defensive mode.”
In other reports coming in from California, a pressurized tank overheated last week and began venting vapors at a company site in Garden Grove, about 60 kilometers south of downtown Los Angeles, according to the Fire Authority.
Firefighters sprayed the tank with water in an effort to cool the chemicals inside and prevent an explosion.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who declared a state of emergency Saturday, said in a post on X he had asked to issue an emergency declaration to bolster federal support for local and state officials.
It was later reported that the damaged chemical tank had a crack which potentially lowered the risk of a cataclysmic explosion. Fire officials have asserted that the evacuation order for 50,000 area residents remains in effect and there was go given timeline on when they can return.
“There’s still the danger of a possible explosion,” Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Wayhowe Huang said.
A as it released the pressure inside the tank, reducing the chance the tank explodes.
Andrew Whelton, an engineering professor at Purdue University, told AP: “Think of a soda can. If you leave it in a hot car it can explode. But if you put a hole in the can, the product is released and the can itself doesn’t explode.”
Elias Picazo, a chemistry professor at the University of Southern California, said, “A strategic leak buys more time for the liquid within the tank to solidify as the reaction continues. Depending on where the leak is, it can also be used to direct the unreacted liquid out of the tank in a controlled manner.”
(With agency inputs, more details will be added as they are reported)
