A commercial building fire near Wheeler Avenue in La Verne sent police scrambling to clear the area Tuesday, prompting two nearby schools to shelter in place while officials treated the blaze as a hazmat incident. The fire was reported around 11:43 a.m. and was contained to a single structure just off U.S. Route 66 in the eastern Los Angeles County city.
According to NBC Los Angeles, fire officials described the incident as involving hazardous materials, though the exact substance involved was not specified. The La Verne Police Department issued an evacuation order for everyone near Wheeler and Bonita avenues, urging residents in the immediate vicinity to leave the area right away.
Two Campuses Told to Stay Indoors
Grace Miller Elementary School, located on Holly Oak Street, was placed under a shelter-in-place order as the fire burned nearby. Bonita High School, on D Street, was also told to keep students and staff indoors for the duration of the response.
Everyone at both campuses, along with residents living close to the commercial building, was instructed to stay inside with doors, windows and vents shut. The dual orders — evacuation for those closest to the flames, shelter-in-place for those a bit farther away — reflect how quickly the situation escalated after the fire was first reported Tuesday morning.
Roads Snarled Near Foothill Boulevard
Officials warned that nearby roadways could be blocked to traffic as crews worked to knock down the blaze, specifically flagging Foothill Boulevard between Moreno and B streets as a likely trouble spot for drivers. Anyone traveling through that stretch of La Verne was advised to expect delays or detours while firefighters remained on scene.
The city of Claremont said a lithium battery may have started the fire; the precise cause has not been confirmed. Lithium-ion battery fires have drawn scrutiny elsewhere in recent months — a battery tied to a vehicle charging unit sparked a street closure in Woodland earlier this year, according to FOX40, and firefighters in Cortland, New York responded to two separate lithium-ion battery fires in a single weekend last week, per CNY Central.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the fire remained contained to the one structure near Wheeler Avenue. It was not immediately clear how long the shelter-in-place and evacuation orders would remain in effect for the schools and nearby residents.
