Local News

Westlake apartment building evacuated after possible gas-related explosion

By Julie Sharp

Updated on: May 21, 2025 / 5:01 PM PDT / CBS LA

CBS News Los Angeles

A Westlake apartment building was evacuated Wednesday afternoon after a possible gas-related explosion left a man significantly injured, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Authorities said that at around 2:19 p.m., smoke was coming from the attic vents of the two-story building at W. Fourth Street and S. Bixel Street after a possible gas-related explosion occurred.

According to an LAFD representative, a wall in a second-floor unit suffered structural damage, and the roof over that unit may have shifted.

A Department of Building and Safety inspector red-tagged the apartment at the center of the explosion and yellow-tagged two more units. The rest of the complex will be reopened by Wednesday night, according to LAFD.

Arson investigators are still investigating the explosion.

Julie Sharp

Julie Sharp is a digital producer at CBS Los Angeles. She is a South Bay native and majored in print journalism at Cal State University Long Beach. Julie previously reported for the Beach Reporter, contributed to the Palos Verdes Pulse and worked as a video journalist for CBS News before joining the CBS News Los Angeles website team.