Firefighters continued working Monday morning, June 22 to extinguish a fire inside a massive Boyle Heights warehouse as more resources were arriving to help after local and state authorities declared a state of emergency over the weekend, authorities said.
In a Sunday night, June 21 update, the Los Angeles Fire Department said fire conditions on the outside of the building, in the 1400 block of South Los Palos Street, have been “largely knocked down” and that firefighters were now focused on “accessing and extinguishing remaining fire within more interior areas of the building.”
However, the layout of the interior continues to make work challenging for crews, officials said.
“Interior storage rack systems remain in place and are supporting portions of the collapsed roof, creating complex and unstable conditions that require a cautious and methodical approach,” officials said.
A special air quality advisory issued by the South Coast Air Quality Management District was in effect until at least 12:30 p.m. Monday, June 22.
On Sunday, Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Jaime Moore said the arrival of additional resources would bring different types of equipment and give Los Angeles firefighters a much-needed break.
He also said firefighters made significant progress on the fire over the weekend by cutting holes through thick walls and inserting water cannons to douse the flames inside. Those cannons can spray 1,500 to 2,000 gallons of water per minute.
Fire officials said smoke conditions have also improved significantly “and are expected to improve as firefighters make progress extinguishing the fire,” though they cautioned that intermittent increases in smoke may occur as crews open walls and other concealed spaces “to locate and extinguish hidden fire.”
The fire was affecting one half of the massive 500,000-square-foot structure, used as a cold storage for about 85 million tons of frozen food, Moore said.
The operation is run by Lineage, which employs 23,000 workers and has 22 facilities in Southern California.
The fire started on the roof, Moore said. As subcontractors were working on the solar panels, a pair of small fires started and the subcontractors had believed they put them out, but when a third one started, that’s when they called 911 “and we were off to the races,” the chief said.
In a Sunday statement, Lineage said the roof was leased to a third-party solar company, which was responsible for operating and maintaining the setup.
Moore on Sunday said the subcontractors were working on the high-voltage panels to get them back online. They were shut down after another fire in 2024, he said.
Meanwhile, local and state officials were working to make sure residents had options and supplies to deal with the poor air quality due to the massive amount of smoke emitting from the building.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said air purifiers, masks and filter replacements were available at shelters and that she and other officials went door-to-door in Boyle Heights on Sunday morning, June 21 to make sure residents near the building had supplies if they were needed.
Bass said while the city had hundreds of purifiers available over the weekend, that number was expected to jump into the thousands by Monday, June 22.
Shelters were available for those affected by smoky conditions at Pecan Rec Center, 145 S. Pecan St., and a county location at City Terrace Park, 1126 N. Hazard Ave. The Weingart East Los Angeles YMCA has also opened an emergency center. All three were distributing supplies.
Lineage contributed $2 million to the California Community Foundation, which would be used to help impacted residents.