A fire broke out at an auto-recycling yard in Wilmington this afternoon, sending smoke wafting over the Long Beach-Los Angeles Harbor area.

It took 36 firefighters 46 minutes to put out the flames that damaged nearly three dozen vehicles, authorities said.

The fire was reported at 1:08 p.m. at 1903 North Blinn Ave., Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said.

No structures were threatened, no injuries were reported and no evacuations were ordered, Humphrey said.

The cause of the fire was under investigation, he said.