I-10 freeway in Los Angeles reopens; search for person of interest in fire continues

(NEW YORK) — Interstate 10 in Los Angeles re-opened Sunday night following a fire that led to its closure the prior weekend, officials said.

“ALL LANES ARE NOW OPEN ON INTERSTATE 10 BETWEEN ALAMEDA ST. AND THE EAST LA INTERCHANGE,” the California Highway Patrol announced in a post on X Sunday night.

At a press conference earlier in the day, Vice President Kamala Harris saif the freeway was close to opening.

“Tomorrow, the commute is back on,” Harris said during the 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.

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, gray 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.

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.

A stretch of I-10 freeway between Alameda Street and the East Los Angeles interchange had 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.