Shelter-in-place order lifted for San Pedro, Wilmington over cargo ship blaze as fire battle continues

Clara Harter, Allen J. Schaben and Suhauna Hussain, Los Angeles Times on Nov 22, 2025

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LOS ANGELES — A shelter-in-place order was lifted Saturday morning for San Pedro and Wilmington after a massive and stubborn blaze involving hazardous materials erupted Friday night on a cargo ship, authorities said.

The order, due to potentially toxic smoke from the blaze, had covered a huge swath of the region from Western Avenue to the 103 Freeway. LAFD confirmed that all 23 crew members had been found and safely assisted off the ship. No injuries have been reported.

The ship was moved out of the port area overnight and anchored offshore in open water as firefighters continued to battle the fire, shooting streams of water onto the deck Saturday morning. Firefighters were making good progress, with the blaze contained to just one compartment and air quality monitors “in the green,” officials said.

“It’s safely been moved into open water,” said Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Adam VanGerpen on Saturday. “There’s no danger to the public.”

The electrical fire was reported below deck of the 1,100-foot container ship One Henry Hudson at 6:38 p.m., according to LAFD. An explosion rattled the boat just before 8 p.m., affecting power to lights and cranes, authorities said.

Hazardous materials are in several of the cargo containers involved in the blaze and all firefighters are wearing protective suits and oxygen masks, according to LAFD. Specially trained hazardous materials crews are monitoring air quality as efforts continue to suppress the fire in the ship’s sublevels.

Marine crews worked to cool the outside of the ship to make conditions on the boat more tenable for firefighting crews. At 8 p.m. Friday, the incident command had instructed that no firefighting members go below deck.

At that time, progress on containment remained slow, according to LAFD. The ship did not appear to be sinking despite a large amount of water being used to fight the fire.

Drones were used to acquire thermal imaging of the blaze and assist the emergency response, authorities said.

The California Highway Patrol announced at 10:30 p.m. that the Vincent Thomas Bridge, a main access point to the port’s terminals, would be closed until further notice due to the fire. Drivers are advised to avoid the area and follow detour routes.

The U.S. Coast Guard also responded to the incident and established a safety perimeter of one nautical mile around the vessel. As of Saturday, the safety perimeter was reduced to a half mile.

The boat was dragged out of the harbor to open waters around 3 a.m. and anchored 1 mile away from shore, nearby Angels Gate Lighthouse by 4:43 a.m., LAFD said.

The city has contracted a salvage team of firefighters who specialize in cargo ship firefighting. Six members of the crew arrived on scene midday Saturday, with still others en route, VanGerpen said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been conducting atmospheric monitoring for potentially toxic smoke, but air quality is “reporting in the green” so far, Van Gerpen said, which is why the shelter-in-place order was lifted.

Originally some 100 containers were on fire in four different compartments of the ship, but the fire has as of Saturday around 11 a.m. contained to just one compartment. Fire boats spraying water to cool the ship down are rotating in in four hour increments.

As soon as the vessel was moved to open waters, it left LAFD’s jurisdiction and entered the U.S. Coast Guard’s domain, VanGerpen said. However, the fire department’s boats will remain until early Sunday morning to help with efforts, he said.

The cargo ship sails under the flag of Panama and arrived in the Port of L.A. on Wednesday after traveling from Tokyo, according to Vessel Finder.

In a statement on X, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said the city is continuing to monitor the incident closely. Gov. Gavin Newsom was briefed on the incident and his office was coordinating with local authorities, officials said.