Fire At L.A. Port Spews Smoke Into Surrounding Cities

The wharf fire smoldered for more than 20 hours at the busiest port in the U.S. Lingering smoke on Tuesday caused an air quality warning and the closure of a school.

Plumes of smoke wafted around the Port of Los Angeles on Tuesday, prompting air quality warnings for the surrounding communities.

A "stubborn" fire began on a wharf of the port Monday evening, the Los Angeles Fire Department reported, and continued to burn Tuesday afternoon.

The blaze prompted some closures at the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the busiest shipping area in the U.S. A local air quality board also advised children, the elderly and anyone with respiratory or heart disease to stay inside with their windows closed. Anyone in the affected area - which stretched for miles due to sea breezes - was warned to avoid exerting themselves in or outdoors.

Firefighters attacked the flames Monday night from boats and the air as well as on the ground, officials said. Divers worked on the fire beneath the pier, and most of fire was out after two hours.

Smoldering and smoke continued through Tuesday.

Almost 24 hours after the fire began, the fire department said they would have to monitor it for another night.

.@PortofLA wharf fire diminished but continues to smolder. @LAFD will be there throughout the night by land + sea. No injuries reported. ^BH

The fire was contained to the 150-foot wharf, though 850 workers were evacuated from the area as a precaution, according to the fire department. Investigators believe it began with a welding torch during work, NBC News reported. The flames caught on the thick timbers of the wharf, which had been coated with creosote.

Floors collapsed in a steel warehouse above the wharf, sending large coils of steel into the water, the fire department said.

One school was closed Tuesday morning, and another evacuated around noon.

Children seen covering noses from Port of LA fire fumes. 1 school evacuated. Photo by @latimes http://t.co/DMsYuVU2jd

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