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An explosion caused by a leaky tanker truck in the south of Los Angeles Sunday sent a plume of black smoke visible for miles flying from bird to bird.
The 9,000-gallon tanker was parked on industrial land and was dumping gasoline or other liquid fuel into the storm sewers, officials said. The cause of fuel combustion has not yet been clearly determined, but the result has been a massive fireball that has also ignited "the atmosphere in the storm sewers" and caused the displacement of the sewer plates, according to those responsible for the fire.
Two people in a house next to the industrial estate were injured and transported to the hospital. Their conditions were not known immediately.
Maria Sanchez, who also lives at home, said that she had no idea that a tanker was parked next to it.
"They just arrived at this place," she said of the occupants of the field. "They moved into this place less than a month ago and they covered everything so nobody knew what was going on.
The investigators will examine in particular whether it was legal to store a tanker at this location. This section of West Slauson Ave. houses residences and businesses.
The block where the explosion took place also houses a small building and a taco shop.
LA Fire Department initially reported reacting to a natural gas leak in the 200 block of West Slauson Ave. At approximately 07:45 am, firefighters discovered "heavy fire from storm sewers" upon their arrival.
"The units arrived at the scene to find the fire from the storm sewers and the gas leak from a nearby tanker truck, exposing two buildings to fire," said Nicholas Prange, LAFD Public Services Officer
More than 70 firefighters worked for 90 minutes to control the fire.
After the fire was extinguished, Los Angeles County officials then tried to prevent any fuel from entering the storm system further. They blocked a flood control canal about one kilometer south of the explosion to prevent hazardous waste from further downstream or to reach the ocean. These ongoing efforts concern the city's sanitation department and the Department of Water and Energy, the Los Angeles County Hazardous Materials Team, the head of the Department of Water and Energy. watersheds and official representatives of California fish and game.
Julia Paskin and Megan Garvey contributed to this report
UPDATES:
11:50: This article has been updated with additional information on the location of the explosion, a quote from Maria Sanchez and detailed information on the cleaning efforts. It also states that the authorities indicated that the tanker may be carrying gasoline or other liquid fuel.
14h: This story has been updated to correct the job title of Prange.
This article was published at 9:23 am
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