Six-Day Battle in Boyle Heights
Smoke continues to billow from a 500,000-square-foot cold storage facility in Boyle Heights after six days of firefighting, prompting Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass to declare states of emergency on Saturday. The fire began on Wednesday afternoon at the Lineage Big Bear facility at 1400 S. Los Palos Street, which stores frozen foods for distribution across the greater Los Angeles area. By Sunday, the Los Angeles Fire Department had confined the blaze to one side of the building, but firefighters removed part of the exterior wall overnight to improve ventilation and access to previously unreachable areas.
LA Fire Chief Jamie Moore described the structure's unique hazards during a Saturday news conference. The building uses corrugated steel walls filled with dense foam insulation and reinforced interior steel panels, creating what Moore called "like a giant cooler." The facility also contained ammonia in its refrigeration system. An ammonia line ruptured during initial firefighting efforts, creating additional dangers from toxic fumes.
Resources Mobilized Across State Lines
Newsom's emergency declaration enables California to deploy specialized resources to support local firefighting operations. The state has made 5.5 million N95 respirator masks available for distribution, along with commercial-grade air purifiers for evacuation centers, bottled water, and additional air quality monitoring equipment. California Office of Emergency Services Fire and Rescue Branch leaders with specialized technical expertise are en route to work with local officials on suppression strategies and operational considerations.
Firefighting crews have relied on continuous helicopter water drops since the fire began. Contract helicopters drop approximately 3,000 gallons of water at one time, and crews also use blaze tamer gel, a fire retardant that encapsulates smoke and smothers the fire. Large aerial ladder pipes direct thousands of gallons of water per minute onto the building to contain the blaze.
The Spoilage Crisis Ahead
An estimated 85 million pounds of frozen food remains inside the facility, with firefighters unable to enter due to zero visibility and unstable interior conditions. The building's internal temperature has risen to around 45 degrees after crews disabled the refrigeration system and removed ammonia from inside. Moore said the food, initially believed to be mostly bread and wheat products, actually contains significant quantities of chicken, beef, pork, and fish that are slowly beginning to rot.
Officials are working to isolate unaffected areas and determine how to safely remove remaining goods before spoilage creates biohazard concerns. No firefighters or civilians have been injured so far, but the scope of potential environmental and health impacts extends across a wide area. LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis noted that the fire's smoke radius extends approximately 2.5 miles, affecting about 250,000 households in unincorporated East Los Angeles.
Air Quality and Community Impact
The South Coast Air Quality Management District extended a particle pollution advisory until at least 12:30 p.m. Monday after sensors showed unhealthy PM2.5 levels following a fire reignition on Friday night. Mayor Bass expressed particular concern about biohazard smoke potentially containing toxic chemicals needed to keep food frozen. She said the city and county have opened smoke relief centers at the Pecan Recreation Center at 145 S. Pecan Street and City Terrace Park at 1126 N. Hazard Avenue.
Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, who represents Boyle Heights, said the emergency declaration was crucial because residents have endured days of smoke, shelter-in-place orders, and ongoing uncertainty about health impacts. Despite the severity, officials stressed there is currently no evacuation or shelter-in-place order, though both have been issued and lifted twice since the fire began. Moore advised residents sensitive to smoke to stay indoors but said nothing in the air requires mandatory evacuation measures.
Timeline Remains Uncertain
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Jon O'Brien cautioned that extinguishing the fire could take days or even weeks. Deep pockets of smoldering fire remain buried under structural debris and solar panels, requiring meticulous operations to bring the blaze under control. Lineage, the facility's tenant and operator, released a statement indicating the fire may have originated from work being performed by a third-party contractor testing solar panels on the roof. Lineage stated it has pumped out ammonia and transported it offsite. LAFD and AQMD have reported no measurable ammonia concentrations in the community since the fire started.
Residents who notice unusual odors, smoke, dust, or other air quality concerns can report them to the South Coast Air Quality Management District by calling 1-800-CUT-SMOG or using the agency's online complaint system.
