LAFD battles huge blaze at Lincoln Heights auto wrecking business

Close to 100 firefighters battled a huge fire Monday night that ignited among 55-gallon drums holding apparent exotic metals at a Lincoln Heights auto wrecking business, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman said.

The blaze created a large cloud of smoke that was visible from downtown Los Angeles, but no evacuations were ordered and no structures were threatened by the flames, the LAFD said. No injuries were reported.

There was one home near the rear of the business at 1809 Hancock Street, but the blaze was burning in a largely industrial area, the LAFD said.

Firefighters encountered intense heat and thick smoke when they arrived around 8:10 p.m.

“The fire was burning voraciously,” LAFD spokesman Brian Humphrey said, adding that there was “no inordinate hazard at this time.”

The department reported shortly after 9 p.m. that the blaze was knocked down.