A massive fire broke out at an auto shop Sunday afternoon in South Gate, prompting a shelter-in-place order as a power outage affected hundreds of residents nearby.
Firefighters responded around 2:40 p.m. to the 11800 block of Industrial Avenue, where the one-story commercial building caught fire and escalated to a second-alarm response, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
The shelter-in-place order was issued for the area around Garfield Avenue and Imperial Highway.
Police urged people to avoid the area of Gardendale and Industrial streets to allow first responders to safely work.
AIR7 video showed crews attacking the flames from a roof and ladder trucks as they worked to gain control of the fire.
A large plume of thick black smoke rose into the air and billowed over the area as crews continued their efforts. At one point, the smoke was so dense it nearly engulfed a firefighter standing on a ladder.
A firefighter is barely visible on a ladder amid thick black smoke from a massive auto shop fire in South Gate on Sunday, May 24, 2026.
The fire appeared to be near homes, though it was not immediately clear whether any other structures were threatened.
A fire-related power outage affecting nearly 500 customers near the scene began just before 3:30 p.m., according to Southern California Edison.
The outage was initially expected to be restored around 5 p.m., according to SCE’s website. However, as of 6 p.m. Sunday, customers were still without power.
Fire officials said the blaze was knocked down at 4:19 p.m., though crews remained on scene.
The cause of the fire was not immediately clear, and further information was not available.
