Long each Post reader Jeff Wimbish sent in this photo taken Sunday, May 1, depicting the Los Cerritos Wetlands Fire that closed down Pacific Coast Highway and required the brief evacuation of the Marina Pacifica shopping center. Photo courtesy of Jeff Wimbish.
7:01am | The intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Second Street was closed down and the Marina Pacifica Shopping Center briefly evacuated Sunday as firefighters attempted to douse spot fires that had spread from a blaze in the neighboring Los Cerritos Wetlands, Long Beach fire and police officials said.
The fire broke out in the wetlands adjacent to an oil storage facility on the northwest corner of PCH and Second a bit north of the In-N-Out Burger at about 9:45 a.m. Sunday morning, officials said.
Firefighter Matt Dobberpuhl, a Long Beach Fire Department spokesman, said that a power line appeared to have struck a dead palm tree, sparking the blaze that eventually spread to other areas.
High winds subsequently blew hot embers from the initial fire across PCH, landing at the shopping center and in some instances igniting spot fires, officials said.
Long Beach Police Department officers who were directing the diverted traffic at the intersection even pitched in to battle the flames, grabbing fire extinguishers out of their black-and-whites and helping to knock down a spot fire that broke out near Hof’s Hut and Albertson’s in a storage area, an LBPD spokeswoman said.
Additional fire crews were dispatched to tackle the numerous spot fires, Dobberpuhl said.
Police began to evacuate the shopping center at about 11 a.m., telling all shoppers to head to their vehicles and exit the center. Shoppers were allowed to return beginning around 12:15 p.m.
The intersection of PCH and Second was reopened roughly a half hour later, according to the LBPD.
About two acres of wetlands were damaged during by the initial fire, and a spot fire damaged the roof of Pier 1 Imports, Dobberpuhl said.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that the fire was on the northeast corner of the intersection. Officials have clarified that it was on the northwest.