The Port of Los Angeles has reopened on Tuesday following a fire that broke out overnight, which resulted in a massive shut down on many container terminals due to the spread of unhealthy smoke.

Smoke from the burning old creosote-preserved timber raised alarm and prompted precautionary evacuations of a school nearby as reports indicated that the plume from the scorched wharf may be toxic.

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"If you are in the Port of Los Angeles area, please shelter in place. This means stay indoors.  Bring your pets inside if possible. Close your doors and windows. Turn off air conditioning," a smoke hazard alert from the Los Angeles Police Department stated on Tuesday morning.

According to reports, the fire broke out after a welding incident caused almost 150 feet of dock to be torched.

About 150 LAFD firefighters were deployed together with other responders from Long Beach while cargo ships were immediately moved out of the way to avoid them being scorched as well.

During the onslaught of the blaze, a Tweet from the fire department indicated that it "continues to attack flames by air, land, and sea" as the APL and NYK terminals have been vacated due to the thick smoke.

Firefighters worked for nearly three hours to extinguish the blaze though it was not immediately clear when the embers would be out.

When the fire was finally put out on Monday evening, seven out of eight terminals in the Port of Los Angeles have been reopened at around 6 p.m. for the night shift while the remaining eight have been set to resume operations the following day.

No injuries have been reported as several thousands of port laborers and employees were sent home on Tuesday while the cost of damages was not immediately known.

The Port of Los Angeles, located about 20 miles south of the city's downtown area, handles around $780 million of cargo average each day and is considered to be the United States' busiest container port, ranking 16th worldwide.

TagsPort of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, california, fire, dock, terminals, Los Angeles Fire Department