Los Angeles building from famous rock album cover goes up in flames

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) — It took over 100 firefighters more than an hour and a half to contain a fire at a historic downtown Los Angeles building in an incident that officials declared a "Major Emergency."

The blaze at 1246 S. Hope St. was reported shortly before 11 a.m. Thursday. Aerial footage from Nexstar's KTLA showed intense flames and heavy smoke billowing into the sky.

The fire drew a response from 17 fire companies, the Los Angeles Fire Department said in a news alert, before later adding that the battle lasted for an hour and 37 minutes.

The blaze was in a 110-year-old building once home to the Morrison Hotel, which was the site of a famous photoshoot for the fifth album by the Doors, fronted by singer Jim Morrison.

More recently, the building was set to become low-income housing. A year ago, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation purchased the Morrison Hotel and expected to use it to house 111 people.

For 15 years, the fire department used it as a "frequent training site for LAFD, giving crews an advantage in quickly navigating the structure," fire officials said.

No injuries were reported, even though firefighters "placed ground ladders to the fire escapes to assist unhoused persons exiting the vacant structure."

Several dozen ultimately fled or were assisted from the burning building, fire officials said.

Because the building is red-tagged and has weakened structural integrity, "it was not safe for firefighters to make entry to fully extinguish the remaining pockets of fire," the LAFD said.

"Therefore, crews will remain on fire watch through the night to ensure public safety and no flare-ups," the LAFD added.

LAFD Arson is investigating the cause of the blaze. When it's deemed safe to do so, human remains-detecting K-9 units will search to ensure no one was still inside.