Interstate 10 in Los Angeles is expected to reopen Monday following a fire that closed one of the busiest highways in the country, officials said.
“Tomorrow, the commute is back on,” Vice President Kamala Harris said during a Sunday press conference alongside California Gov. Gavin Newsom, LA Mayor Karen Bass and local officials.
Meanwhile, authorities are seeking to identify a person of interest in connection with the fire, which damaged a large portion of the I-10 freeway near downtown Los Angeles last week.
More work must be done on the freeway overnight before it can be reopened on Monday morning, officials told reporters in a news conference Sunday morning.
Cal Fire released images of a subject of interest sought in connection with a Nov. 11 fire that damaged a large section of the I-10 freeway near downtown Los Angeles.
Cal Fire
Cal Fire officials said the fire, which was reported shortly after midnight on Nov. 11, was determined to be arson.
Cal Fire released photos of a person of interest sought in the alleged arson. The individual was described as a man of unknown race, approximately 6′ tall and 170 to 190 pounds. The person was captured on surveillance footage wearing a black hoodie, blue shorts, grey shoes, a green scarf, a knee brace on his right knee, and a dark backpack.
“The subject appeared to have visible burn injuries on his left leg,” Cal Fire said in an alert on Saturday.
The person left the immediate area of the I-10 freeway and Alameda Street and has not been located, Cal Fire said.
An aerial view of workers walking on the closed I-10 freeway following a large pallet fire, which occurred Saturday at a storage yard, on Nov. 13, 2023 in Los Angeles.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
The fire broke out underneath the I-10 — a major east-to-west artery for the city — and ripped through numerous wooden pallets, trailers, and vehicles stored below the raised interstate, officials said previously. The out-of-control fire burned for three hours and spread over what authorities described as the equivalent of six football fields before it was extinguished. More than 160 firefighters responded to put out the blaze.
About 16 people living underneath the highway were evacuated to shelters, officials said.
This photo provided by the California Department of Transportation shows the damage of columns from an intense fire under Interstate 10 that severely damaged the overpass in an industrial zone near downtown Los Angeles, on Nov. 11, 2023.
Caltrans District 7 via AP
A stretch of I-10 freeway between Alameda Street and the East Los Angeles interchange has been closed since the fire.
A 250-person crew is currently working 24 hours a day at the site to shore up damaged pillars and replace wood posts and steel beams, the California Department of Transportation said.