Two Saturdays ago, a massive fire burned underneath the I-10 Freeway in Downtown Los Angeles. The fire, which burned for three hours, damaged more than 100 of the columns supporting the freeway, resulting in the closure of the freeway. It started under the overpass at Alameda Street, fueled by pallets and sanitizer that had accumulated during the Covid-19 pandemic. Over 160 firefighters responded to the fire. There were no injuries, but 16 homeless people living under the freeway were sent to shelters. 

The closure affected all lanes of traffic between Alameda Street and the 110 Freeway and resulted in more traffic in an already congested metropolitan area. L.A. urged people to use public transportation like Metro Link or work online. Some schools in the area felt the impact of the traffic delay.

They predict that the freeway will be fully repaired within five weeks. Repairs can happen with traffic, opening on Monday. “This is not a demo operation. This is a repair operation,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said. “We’re going to do everything in our power to move that into a more immediate future and not extend this to that five-week period.” 

Currently, there is no need for demolition as the preliminary tests showed the damage wasn’t as severe as originally thought.

While arson was deemed the origin of the fire, there haven’t been any arrests, and an investigation is ongoing.