A reader sends us linkage to a post on the SkyscraperPage Forum, where poster k3d posts the above pic and a first hand account of an apparent fire and explosion at the Downtown Ralph's: "Woke up this morning to some loud booms and the sirens...." This also marks the debut of our new Category (which may be long overdue): Disasters.
UPDATE: Blame the welder. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Department tells us that a welder working at a construction site at 645 W. Ninth Street, site of the forthcoming Market Lofts and Ralphs, accidentally started the fire. The spokesperson wasn't sure which floor the fire took place, but said it was in the part of the building undergoing residential construction. The welder managed to put out the fire before fire trucks arrived at around 7:30 a.m., but firemen stuck around to do "smoke removal." The whole thing was over by 9:15 a.m.