Explosion in Westlake building forces evacuation

Explosion at Westlake apartment: 1 injured

An explosion at an apartment in Westlake seriously injured one man, and forced officials to evacuate the building.

LOS ANGELES - An explosion went off in a building in the Westlake district of Los Angeles Wednesday afternoon, and crews are working to figure out what caused the blast.

What we know:

The Los Angeles Fire Department first reported the explosion around 2:15 p.m. Wednesday, in a two-story building on 4th Street. Firefighters said there was damage in one of the units on the second floor, and smoke was coming out of the attic vents. There was, however, no fire.

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First responders took one man to the hospital with what they called "significant injuries."

Firefighters said that some of the roof rafters were shifting after the explosion. They shut down utilities to the building while they investigated.

Crews red tagged the apartment where the explosion happened, and yellow tagged two nearby units. Around 5 p.m., the LAFD announced that the rest of the building had been cleared and that they would start allowing residents back into the building Wednesday evening.

What we don't know:

The LAFD is still working to determine the cause of the explosion, but the department said the initial investigation points to it being gas-related.

The man who was injured was not identified.