LCCN Staff Report
LOS ANGELES — After burning for nearly a week and sending thick smoke across Los Angeles County, firefighters have finally extinguished the massive warehouse fire in Boyle Heights, ending one of the region’s most complex industrial firefighting operations in recent memory. The focus now shifts from battling flames to cleaning up what officials say is an enormous environmental and public health challenge.
The fire broke out June 18 at a 500,000-square-foot cold storage warehouse operated by Lineage in Boyle Heights. Firefighters initially knocked down the flames, but the blaze continued to smolder deep within the heavily insulated building, which contained approximately 85 million pounds of frozen food stored on towering steel racks beneath a roof covered with solar panels.
The warehouse’s construction made conventional firefighting nearly impossible. Officials said crews could not safely enter because of the danger of structural collapse, forcing firefighters to attack the fire from outside while using heavy equipment to remove sections of exterior walls and helicopters to drop water from above.
The fire prompted emergency declarations as smoke drifted across Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles, the San Gabriel Valley and portions of downtown Los Angeles. Residents were urged to remain indoors, close windows and doors, and wear N95 masks when outside because of elevated levels of fine particulate matter.
While the flames have been extinguished, officials said the recovery effort is only beginning. Crews now face the task of removing roughly 85 million pounds of spoiled food from the damaged warehouse, a process expected to take weeks.
Investigators continue working to determine the cause of the fire. Officials believe the blaze may have started while subcontractors were performing work on rooftop solar panels, although the investigation remains ongoing.
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