Los Angeles Port Reopens After Welding Accident Ignites Wharf

Worries about unhealthy smoke shut down terminals at the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach harbor for a few days after a welding accident Monday evening ignited the 800-foot-long-wharf. The fire was finally quelled on Tuesday and now seven of the eight Port of Los Angeles container terminals are reopened and the eighth is scheduled to resume work on Wednesday. At the neighboring Port of Long Beach, all six terminals are open and functioning again after three of them were closed for most of the day when the fire broke out. The twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach handle 40% of America's import trade. The Port of Los Angeles handles an average of about $780 million of cargo each day, and the consequences of delays in moving that much product will trickle down the supply chain, from truckers who wouldn't get paid for the day to exporters and retailers whose products won't show up right on time.