Over 140 firefighters responded to a significant structure fire in Los Angeles that sent black smoke billowing into the air across the city.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said the fire was at an non-permitted cannabis operation situated in a two-story downtown commercial building. It took just under an hour to get the flames extinguished.
Fire officials said trained cadaver search dogs were deployed to search for possible missing people inside the charred structure. Any reports of possible missing individuals were not immediately confirmed, firefighters said.
Authorities were still investigating the exact cause of the fire by Saturday night, according to a statement obtained by Scripps News.
At least five firefighters were sent to be evaluated at a local hospital and were said to be in fair condition — with at least one firefighter reporting they experienced a burning sensation to their face while fighting the fire, just after arriving to the scene.
By Saturday night there had been no other civilian or firefighter injures reported, LAFD said.
And, "no escalating or off-site hazards" were identified.
The Eastsider L.A. reported that the fire started earlier on Saturday morning in a nearly 70-year-old structure. Images taken from a distance showed what appeared to be billowing black smoke drifting across the L.A. skyline.
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