Firefighters were working to extinguish a blaze at a four-story building in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday morning, authorities said.
Crews were setting up a ground ladder on the fire escape to evacuate occupants from the building, according to a news release from the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The fire has been classified as a major emergency, and at least 17 fire companies are on the scene, the statement said.
The building that caught fire was the landmark Morrison Hotel, made famous by The Doors in 1970, and was saved from demolition and opened to low-income residents earlier this year, multiple media reported. Converted to housing.
Firefighters pry open the metal screen doors of a boarded-up building and conduct a clean-up operation after a large-scale alarm fire broke out in downtown Los Angeles.
(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)
“The smoke cloud was so close. I didn’t know where it was coming from,” said Faith Roning, who lives in an apartment across the street from the fire scene. “People living in neighboring buildings were outside with their pets and children. I’ve never seen a fire that big up close.”
Times staff writer Julius Miller contributed to this report.
