A "stubborn" fire was burning Monday in a vacant two-story commercial building in the Sawtelle area near West Los Angeles, authorities said.
Firefighters were sent to the 2000 block of South Bundy Drive about 6:15 a.m., said Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The firefighters went into a defensive mode outside the building, and were working to prevent the flames from spreading to other nearby structures, including a hardware store, Humphrey told City News Service.
"Well coordinated and methodical efforts continue to fully extinguish deeply entrenched pockets of stubborn flames throughout the vacant and boarded 53,500-square-foot two-story commercial building, the site of previous fires, that has sustained severe structural damage from today's blaze," Humphrey said in a statement late Monday morning.
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"No injuries have been reported," Humphrey's statement said. "All lanes of Bundy Drive between Olympic Boulevard and LaGrange Avenue will continue to remain closed for safety, until LAFD operations are complete."
Humphrey told KNX News that a homeless person was seen leaving the building, which had been vacant for a couple of years, but was not injured.
“We saw this male leave the building,” he told KNX News’ Pete Demetriou. “He didn't come forward. He was not injured, [he] didn't have any information for us, and departed the scene. Firefighters were aggressively attacking the flames. It's not clear whether he was affiliated with the fire or may have gone in to look for someone or to be of help.”
[iframe https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!4v1727106351636!6m8!1m7!1suo1q_SpnG8xKZPl4Ak4wCg!2m2!1d34.03392248995264!2d-118.4554936047362!3f121.21140720697345!4f-3.5761731050716463!5f0.7820865974627469 allowfullscreen="" height="450" loading="lazy" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" style="border:0" width="600"]The cause of the fire was under investigation.
The firefighters went into a defensive mode outside the building, which was the site of previous fires, and were working to prevent the flames from spreading to other nearby structures, according to the LAFD. No injuries were immediately reported.
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