11/28/2023 03:25 am (GMT-0800) | Central-Alameda, South Los Angeles

At least three people were injured when a blazing fire ripped through multiple buildings early Tuesday morning in South Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a structure fire shortly before 3:30 a.m. on the 4300 block of South Lima Street in the Central-Alameda neighborhood where arriving crews found a city-block-sized area of structures under construction all on fire with additional structures threatened on all four sides, according to the LAFD.

The fire quickly increased to major emergency status with 140 firefighters on scene to battle the fierce blaze. Neighboring residents were evacuated.

At 6:26 a.m., the LAFD updated the status of the fire with a report of a total of three patients currently injured from the fire. Two patients – a 66-year-old male and 64-year-old female – were transported to a local hospital with serious burn injuries. A 30-year-old male was evaluated at the scene and declined transport to the hospital. All three patients were injured from an exposed building.

"A total of seven buildings were impacted by fire with five of them deemed a total loss," said the LAFD.

Seventeen residents are unable to return to their homes due to fire damage, according to the LAFD. The American Red Cross and the Los Angeles City Emergency Management Department are providing immediate assistance to those impacted.

The LAFD is conducting an arson investigation per protocol for a fire of this magnitude.