Several terminals were closed Friday at the Port of Los Angeles after a tractor-trailer carrying lithium-ion batteries overturned and caught fire nearby on Thursday.
Port officials said that APM Terminals, Fenix Marine, Everport and Yusen Terminals were closed as emergency crews continue to work at the scene.
Officials for the Los Angeles Fire Department said the fire could burn for up to 48 hours and that a roughly 7-mile stretch of California State Route 47, from the Vincent Thomas Bridge to Long Beach, would be closed in that period.
“Putting water on this fire and trying to extinguish it would create a bigger hazmat problem, runoff and a bigger cleanup issue,” David Ortiz, Los Angeles Fire Department public information officer, told CBS News. “You could pour millions of gallons of water on this fire and it still might reignite again.”
The truck overturned around noon Thursday, along a portion of the 47 Freeway at Navy Way, east of the Vincent Thomas Bridge. The fire backed up tractor-trailers for miles along the roadway.
The Trapac and West Basin container terminals, along with the World Cruise Center, will maintain operations at the Port of Los Angeles on Friday, authorities said.
The incident occurs as the Port of Los Angeles is experiencing increasing container activity.
The port handled 960,597 twenty-foot equivalent units in August, a 16% increase over the previous year and the busiest month ever outside the pandemic.
Through the first eight months of 2024, the Port of Los Angeles is 17% ahead of its 2023 pace, already moving nearly 1 million more containers than a year ago.