LA firefighters battle warehouse blaze amid concerns over billowing smoke
Newsom declares state of emergency as crews continue to fight stubborn Boyle Heights fire that has raged for days
California’s governor has declared a state of emergency for the city of Los Angeles, as firefighters struggle to contain a stubborn warehouse blaze that has raged for days and blanketed parts of the city in smoke.
Gavin Newsom announced he was directing state agencies to provide “additional assistance and resources” to help battle the fire, located in the neighborhood of Boyle Heights in east Los Angeles.
“We are coordinating closely with our local partners, deploying specialized expertise, and pre-positioning critical supplies so communities have the support they need both now and throughout recovery,” Newsom said in a statement.
The blaze broke out on Wednesday, after the roof of a 500,000-sq-ft cold storage facility in Boyle Heights caught on fire. Firefighters extinguished the flames quickly, but lingering dangers within the building have made it difficult to completely stop.
Firefighting efforts continued on Sunday as the blaze burned into a fifth day. Officials confirmed they had confined the fire to “one side of the large building”, according to an update from the Los Angeles fire department. No evacuation or shelter-in-place mandates have been ordered.
Smoke has continued to waft away from the building, following the wind into other areas of the county. Residents of East Los Angeles have expressed concerns about the persistent smoke and the potential health risks. On Sunday, a haze hung over large parts of the city and landmarks such as Dodger Stadium, and the air quality index (AQI) in the region fell in the “moderate” category.
Leo Miguel, a manager at the Yia Caffe in Boyle Heights neighborhood, told the Los Angeles Times that smoke from the fire has disrupted his business.
Miguel described the air as smelling “like chemicals and plastic”, adding that conditions seem to be getting worse. “I don’t think it’s getting better,” Miguel said to the newspaper.
Newsom’s statement follows an earlier state of emergency announced by the Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass. Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, who represents Boyle Heights, said in a statement: “This emergency declaration is crucial because Boyle Heights is not just responding to a fire. Residents have lived through days of smoke, shelter-in-place orders, disruptions to daily life, and ongoing questions about what this means for their health and wellbeing.”
An ammonia line had ruptured during the initial firefighting efforts, making the blaze more dangerous. Ammonia, a commonly used commercial refrigerant, is highly flammable and can emit toxic fumes.
Officials initially ordered local residents to shelter in place due to the air pollution and the possibility of ammonia contamination. Los Angeles city and county have opened smoke relief centers.
“The city and county have opened spaces for families seeking relief from the smoke, and we will continue working around the clock and doing everything possible to put this fire out completely,” Bass said.
Firefighters have been forced to retreat and try to contain the conflagration from a safer distance, while using air drops of water from helicopters to help put it out. Foam within the building has continued to slowly burn, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Some Boyle Heights residents with health conditions have reportedly already left the area. Ashley Campos, 18, told the LA Times that her and her family evacuated after smelling fumes in their home, which is located about two blocks from the warehouse fire. Several people in the Campos family have pre-existing health conditions, including epilepsy, asthma, and cancer.
Dodger Stadium, the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is also blanketed in smog, as seen in video posted to X. “The smoke from the nearby Boyle Heights warehouse fire has enshrouded Dodger Stadium in an acrid, nasty haze,” posted Ben Bolch, a reporter with the California Post. “Not sure I’d want to sit here and watch as a fan, much less play the game, unless conditions improve.”
Meanwhile, community organizations are handing out masks to Boyle Heights residents as air quality continues to suffer in the area. Centro CSO, a grassroots organization in the Boyle Heights area, posted pictures of their respirator drive to X.
Once the fire is completely put out, officials will have to remove some 85m lbs of rotted food. Officials have said they are working on the biohazard challenges potentially posed from spoiled foods such as bread, poultry, pork and beef.
Newsom’s statement said that the state has made more than 5m N95 respirator masks available for distribution, as well as air purifiers, bottled water and other supplies to assist with the emergency.
“The warehouse fire has produced significant smoke and particulate matter that may affect air quality in surrounding neighborhoods,” the statement said.
The Los Angeles fire department chief, Jaime Moore, said in a news conference on Saturday that they have taken care of the hazardous materials portion of the blaze and now they are working on the biohazard challenges.
“We have 85 million pounds of frozen food inside of this facility and the way the building has been laid out, it’s very difficult for us to get in there because there’s zero visibility inside,” Moore said. “Our firefighters are not able to just go in there and start moving pallets.”
The Associated Press contributed reporting
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If firefighting efforts continued on Sunday as the blaze burned into a fifth day, then the bigger picture starts to look very different.
Basically leo Miguel, a manager at the Yia Caffe in Boyle Heights neighborhood, told the Los Angeles Times that smoke from the fire has disrupted his business. What matters is whether anything changes because of it.
Considering smoke has continued to waft away from the building, following the wind into other areas of the county, it raises some real questions about what happens next.
In other words gavin Newsom announced he was directing state agencies to provide “additional assistance and resources” to help battle the fire, located in the neighborhood of Boyle Heights in east Los Angeles. Curious to see how this develops.
Gavin Newsom announced he was directing state agencies to provide “additional assistance and resources” to help battle the fire, located in the neighborhood of Boyle Heights in east Los Angeles. Meanwhile the blaze broke out on Wednesday, after the roof of a 500,000-sq-ft cold storage facility in Boyle Heights caught on fire.
Boyle Heights is in a tough spot here, curious how they navigate it.
The blaze broke out on Wednesday, after the roof of a 500,000-sq-ft cold storage facility in Boyle Heights caught on fire. Meanwhile firefighting efforts continued on Sunday as the blaze burned into a fifth day.
If smoke has continued to waft away from the building, following the wind into other areas of the county, then the bigger picture starts to look very different.
The bigger issue here is the blaze broke out on Wednesday, after the roof of a 500,000-sq-ft cold storage facility in Boyle Heights caught on fire. That changes the calculation.
When you look at leo Miguel, a manager at the Yia Caffe in Boyle Heights neighborhood, told the Los Angeles Times that smoke from the fire has disrupted his business, the implications are hard to ignore.
On one hand leo Miguel, a manager at the Yia Caffe in Boyle Heights neighborhood, told the Los Angeles Times that smoke from the fire has disrupted his business. But at the same time gavin Newsom announced he was directing state agencies to provide “additional assistance and resources” to help battle the fire, located in the neighborhood of Boyle Heights in east Los Angeles.
The detail about smoke has continued to waft away from the building, following the wind into other areas of the county is something people should sit with.
Think about it: the blaze broke out on Wednesday, after the roof of a 500,000-sq-ft cold storage facility in Boyle Heights caught on fire. That speaks volumes.
Basically gavin Newsom announced he was directing state agencies to provide “additional assistance and resources” to help battle the fire, located in the neighborhood of Boyle Heights in east Los Angeles. What matters is whether anything changes because of it.
The bigger issue here is firefighting efforts continued on Sunday as the blaze burned into a fifth day. That changes the calculation.