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Residents from Brentwood to Pomona got the bejeezus scared out of them late last night: an emergency alert sent to their phones warned them of a major fire and suggested taking shelter. It wasn't exactly a false alarm. There was a dramatic fire but it was far from many of the people who received the alert: the Port of Los Angeles in Wilmington.
People took to Reddit and Twitter to express their concerns after receiving the emergency alert around midnight. The alert said the fire warning would be in effect until 12:47 a.m. There were a lot of confusion:
About 150 firefighters battled the massive dock fire that was first reported around 6:40 p.m. on Monday in the 800 block of South Fries Avenue , according to CBS Los Angeles. The LAFD and LAPD asked residents in Wilmington, San Pedro and Long Beach to stay indoors with the windows closed. The blaze that burned about 150 feet of the wharf and sent plumes of smoke in the air was contained by Tuesday morning.
The flames were sparked by a welding torch that had burned highly-flammable chemical materials that were coating the pier.
Update: 'Major emergency' fire contained at Port of Los Angeles. @KimberlyChengTV reports. http://t.co/g4WImJXWHS pic.twitter.com/r8ZvllDQhH
— KTLA (@KTLA) September 23, 2014
#BREAKING: Officials say ship, warehouse threated by dock fire in Wilmington. WATCH LIVE: http://t.co/DVdEN9MRJd pic.twitter.com/NAShPf19WN
— FOX 11 Los Angeles (@FOXLA) September 23, 2014
