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A huge fire in downtown LA buildings brought 250 firefighters to the scene and required the partial closures of the 101 and 110 highways. At this point, the 101 has reopened, but the northbound 110 remains closed between the 10 and the 101.
According to KTLA, three high rises in DTLA and an apartment building in Westlake were the scenes of fires. From the LA Times:
More than 250 firefighters battled the blaze at an apartment tower under construction in the 900 block of Fremont Avenue, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman David Ortiz said. The building contained was 1.3 million square feet and officials said two-thirds of it was consumed by flames. The bulk of the fire was put out in 90 minutes but firefighters continue to deal with hot spots, said LAFD Chief Ralph Terrazas said.
The LAFD said two other buildings along Figueroa Street were also damaged by the fire. A building at 313 N. Figueroa St. suffered "external damage from radiant heat" while fire damaged several floors of a 16-story office tower at 212 N. Figueroa St.
Fire spokesman Jaime Moore told The Times the office tower suffered fire and sprinkler water damage.
Arson investigators will be on the scene. California Highway Patrol just tweeted that the northbound 110 will be closed until 8 a.m. A fire spokesman told the Times that "it might take some time to reopen the northbound 110 Freeway. Besides having fire vehicles parked on it, there is some scaffolding from the building still standing, and officials are worried it will collapse onto the freeway."
5:27 AM SIGALERT UPDATE: NB 110 CLOSED UNTIL 0800 HRS DUE TO A FIRE / SB US-101 TEMPLE, BROADWAY AND LOS ANGELES OFF RAMPS ALSO CLOSED
— CHP PIO - LA County (@CHPsouthern) December 8, 2014
Update 10:35 a.m.: The fire in Westlake occurred at at 2871 W 7th Street, according to the L.A. Times. The building contains four businesses that include Happy Feet Clinic, Beauty Secret Hair Salon, Doggie Style and EclosLiving, as well as one and two-bedroom apartments upstairs. However, the fire was small and the building's sprinkler system was able to extinguish a good amount of the blaze.
Another fire at 424 S. Broadway in downtown L.A. affected a nine-story apartment building. Crews were quickly able to knock down the blaze. The building mostly suffered from water damage.
It's unclear at this point if the fires are related. Arson investigators are looking into the fires.
The northbound 110 Freeway at the 101 Freeway was closed earlier this morning, but three lanes were reopened a little before 10 a.m., City News Service reported.
Update, noon: The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has sustained significant window damage to their building at at 111 N. Hope Street as a result of the fire. According to a release from LADWP, 160 windows were cracked due to the intense heat. Each window is 10 feet high by 4 feet wide. Employees who typically work near the broken windows are being relocated while other workers board up and secure the windows. As a result, those of you who have to call DWP today (1-800-DIAL-DWP) might experience longer wait times than usual. LADWP suggest consumers visit LADWP.com, visit a customer service center in person or if possible, call tomorrow.
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