Two people were hospitalized with serious injuries after a fire broke out overnight at a construction site in the Central-Alameda neighborhood of South Los Angeles.
The fire at a multi-family residential building construction site was first reported just before 3:30 a.m. in the 1500 block of East Vernon Street. Two people, a 66-year-old man and 64-year-old woman, were hospitalized with serious burn injuries.
A 30-year-old man was checked out by firefighter-paramedics at the scene.
At least 17 people living near the fire site had to be evacuated. Although fire officials did not have the exact number of evacuees, they said people would be able to return to their homes soon.
Get Southern California news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC LA newsletters.
"Someone climbed on top of our garage and banged on our window to wake us up," one neighbor said. "We grabbed our dogs and came out out here."
Video from the scene showed intense flames and heavy smoke surrounding the structures.
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
"I thought the whole block was on fire," said Francisco Rivas, who was one of the residents who had to evacuated in the early morning hours. "The power is out. We're using candles to light up the house."
Some neighboring buildings were damaged in the fire, according to officials. Five of the seven buildings impacted by the fire were a total loss, firefighters said.
It was not immediately clear whether any homes were destroyed.
The LA Fire Department posted on social media that the blaze was burning at a city-block-sized area of the construction site. Fire officials said more than 140 firefighter were dispatched to the scene to declare a knockdown in 1 hour and 18 minutes.
No one was inside the building when the fire broke out, according to fire officials. Arson investigators would look into the cause of the fire.
