Fire Brings Brief Shelter-in-Place Order as Container Ship Ablaze at LA Port
A raging fire on a container ship docked at the massive Port of Los Angeles sent nearby residents scrambling for shelter Friday night, with authorities racing to contain the blaze before it spread. The One Henry Hudson's electrical fire is believed to have started below deck and quickly spread to multiple levels of the vessel.
As flames engulfed nearly 100 cargo containers, roughly a quarter of which carried hazardous materials such as lithium-ion batteries, officials scrambled to assess potential contamination risks. While an evacuation order was issued for surrounding communities, it was lifted in the morning, allowing firefighters to continue battling the blaze at sea.
Firefighters battled the fire with water cannons, managing to tame "a small section" that still smoldered on board. The Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed all 23 crew members were safe and sound, with no reported injuries.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but officials are still working to determine the extent of any potential environmental damage. With a safety zone established around the ship, air traffic was restricted in the area, and local residents breathed a sigh of relief as normalcy slowly returned.
At 1,102 feet tall, the One Henry Hudson is one of the busiest ships at the LA port, operated by Ocean Network Express, a Singapore-based company. Authorities praised firefighters' efforts, vowing to support incident management and subsequent investigations into the cause of the fire.
A raging fire on a container ship docked at the massive Port of Los Angeles sent nearby residents scrambling for shelter Friday night, with authorities racing to contain the blaze before it spread. The One Henry Hudson's electrical fire is believed to have started below deck and quickly spread to multiple levels of the vessel.
As flames engulfed nearly 100 cargo containers, roughly a quarter of which carried hazardous materials such as lithium-ion batteries, officials scrambled to assess potential contamination risks. While an evacuation order was issued for surrounding communities, it was lifted in the morning, allowing firefighters to continue battling the blaze at sea.
Firefighters battled the fire with water cannons, managing to tame "a small section" that still smoldered on board. The Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed all 23 crew members were safe and sound, with no reported injuries.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but officials are still working to determine the extent of any potential environmental damage. With a safety zone established around the ship, air traffic was restricted in the area, and local residents breathed a sigh of relief as normalcy slowly returned.
At 1,102 feet tall, the One Henry Hudson is one of the busiest ships at the LA port, operated by Ocean Network Express, a Singapore-based company. Authorities praised firefighters' efforts, vowing to support incident management and subsequent investigations into the cause of the fire.