A small fire broke out Thursday afternoon in a historic Downtown Long Beach tunnel, causing smoke to billow onto the intersection above.

Firefighters responded around 12:40 p.m. to a fire at the intersection of Ocean Boulevard and Pine Avenue after heavy smoke started to emanate from the Jergins Tunnel, which is supposed to be part of a massive hotel project in Downtown Long Beach.

Several journalists attending a local college workshop and conference at the nearby Hyatt Regency Long Beach stepped outside to see what all the commotion was about.

Long Beach fire Capt. Jack Crabtree said the cause of the fire was not known and that knocking it down only required the use of a couple of personnel. No injuries were reported.

Smoke billows above Ocean Boulvard after a fire started in the Jergins Tunnel in Downtown Thursday, March 3, 2022. Photo by Brandon Richardson.
Flames can be seen emerging from the Jergins Tunnel on the corner of Ocean Boulevard and Pine Avenue in Downtown Thursday, March 3, 2022. Photo by Brandon Richardson.
Long Beach firefighters remove sheets of plywood from a temporary wall as they work to knock down a fire that started in the shuttered Jergins Tunnel in Downtown Thursday, March 3, 2022. Photo by Brandon Richardson.

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