Los Angeles Fire Department Battles Boyle Heights Cold-Storage Warehouse Fire, Smoke Spreads Across Region

A fire at a cold-storage warehouse in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles began Wednesday afternoon and continued to smolder for days, with smoke plumes spreading across the region.

“The thick, noxious smoke billowing out of a warehouse in Los Angeles has turned into a fixture in the city’s skyline for almost a week – with no end in sight”

CNN

The Los Angeles Fire Department said the blaze was a “unique challenge” because the warehouse walls were made of insulated material that burned slowly and emitted gas, and Jaime E. Moore said there was “no visibility inside the warehouse.”

CNN

NBC News reported the fire broke out Wednesday around 2:30 p.m. on the roof of a 500,000-square-foot cold food storage facility on South Los Palos Street, prompting shelter-in-place orders and a state of emergency over the weekend.

The Los Angeles Times said the building is about the size of a city block and is filled with an estimated 85 million pounds of frozen food, with large portions of the roof collapsed and resting atop steel racks about 50 feet tall and 600 feet long.

The New York Times reported that no injuries have been reported and that shelter-in-place orders were lifted on Friday, even as air-quality officials said smoke reached “very unhealthy” levels at some locations and projected it could spread as far as Riverside and Orange Counties.

Mayor Karen Bass declared a local emergency on Saturday to mobilize mutual aid and resources, saying in a statement, “I’m issuing an emergency declaration to ensure the city has the resources it needs as this operation continues and to keep the community safe.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom also declared a state of emergency Saturday, and NBC News quoted his news release saying, “California is mobilizing to support Los Angeles as firefighters and emergency personnel continue their work to contain this fire and protect surrounding communities.”

Ilke Haber Ajansi

NBC News said the South Coast Air Quality Management District extended its particle pollution advisory into Monday morning and reported sensors showed air particulates had reached “very unhealthy” levels over the weekend in areas including central Los Angeles County and the San Gabriel Valley.

The Los Angeles Times reported that smoke blanketed neighborhoods across the region, including downtown L.A. and Dodger Stadium, and said firefighters planned to switch to a “water cannon” on Monday to blast water at a faster rate.

NBC News quoted council member Ysabel Jurado, who represents Boyle Heights, saying, “I will continue pushing every level of government to bring the resources this community needs so that emergency response, air monitoring, hazardous debris removal, environmental remediation, and public health protections move forward with urgency.”

Fire officials said the blaze was still actively producing smoke and that smoke conditions were expected to continue improving as firefighters made progress, but they also warned intermittent increases in smoke may occur as crews open walls and other concealed spaces.

“The massive warehouse ablaze in Boyle Heights is part of the world’s largest company specializing in the cold storage and transportation of food”

Los Angeles Daily News

The Los Angeles Times said firefighters were still pulling apart the structure and get at flames hidden inside, with officials suspecting the fire began on the roof and caused a partial collapse that allowed flames into the facility.

Lineage Logistics, the tenant-operator of the building, said it believed the fire began while third-party contractors were testing the rooftop solar array, and the company also said it donated $2 million to the California Community Foundation to be distributed to community members affected by the fire.

The Guardian reported that the blaze broke out on Wednesday after the roof of a 500,000-sq-ft cold storage facility in Boyle Heights caught on fire, and it said officials confirmed they had confined the fire to “one side of the large building.”

The Guardian added that once the fire is completely put out, officials will have to remove some 85m lbs of rotted food, and it said officials were working on “biohazard challenges potentially posed from spoiled foods such as bread, poultry, pork and beef.”