California Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency for Los Angeles as firefighters continue battling a difficult warehouse fire in Boyle Heights that has burned for days and sent smoke across parts of the metro area.
The fire broke out Wednesday at a massive cold-storage facility in east Los Angeles. Firefighters initially knocked down visible flames on the roof, but the incident has remained active because of dangerous conditions inside the building, including smoke, limited visibility, spoiled food and hazardous materials.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass had already declared a local emergency before Newsom announced state support. The emergency declarations are intended to bring additional resources for firefighting, air monitoring, cleanup and relief for affected residents.
Newsom said state agencies are coordinating with local officials and providing technical help, supplies and public-health support. The state has made millions of N95 masks available, along with air purifiers, bottled water and additional air-quality monitoring equipment.
TRENDING TODAY
The fire has created serious air-quality concerns for nearby neighborhoods. Officials initially ordered some residents to shelter in place because of smoke and the risk of ammonia exposure. Although that shelter order was later lifted, smoke and particle pollution advisories have continued as the facility smolders.
The warehouse stored frozen and temperature-sensitive food products. Officials say roughly 85 million pounds of food remain inside, including meat, poultry and other products that may now be spoiling. That has created a second challenge beyond the fire itself: how to safely remove and dispose of decaying food once crews can fully access the building.
The response has also been complicated by the building’s design. Cold-storage facilities are built to hold temperature, meaning thick insulated areas can trap heat, smoke and burning material. Fire officials said foam insulation inside the structure has continued to burn slowly, making it difficult for crews to fully extinguish the fire.
An ammonia line also ruptured during the initial firefighting operation. Ammonia is commonly used as a refrigerant in large cold-storage facilities, but it can be dangerous if released. Fire officials have said the hazardous materials portion of the incident has been addressed, but crews are still dealing with the broader fire and biohazard concerns.
Because of conditions inside the building, firefighters have had to take a cautious approach. In some areas, crews have worked from a safer distance and used helicopter water drops instead of entering parts of the facility where visibility and structural risks remain serious.
Local officials said residents in Boyle Heights have endured days of smoke, disruptions and uncertainty about possible health effects. Relief centers have been opened for people seeking cleaner air or support.
The fire has also raised questions about the safety risks inside large warehouse facilities that contain solar panels, lithium-ion batteries, refrigeration systems and massive food inventories. Newsom’s emergency order specifically cited those factors as making the incident difficult to manage with traditional firefighting methods.
For now, officials say the main goals are to fully extinguish the fire, monitor air quality, protect residents and plan for the safe removal of spoiled food. The cleanup could take significant time, especially if crews must treat the facility as both a fire scene and a biohazard site.
Why It Matters
The Boyle Heights fire matters because it is no longer just a building fire. It has become a public-health and environmental emergency involving smoke, ammonia concerns, spoiled food and complex cleanup needs in a densely populated part of Los Angeles.
What Comes Next
Fire crews and state emergency officials will continue working to fully extinguish the fire and stabilize the site. Once conditions are safe, officials will have to remove millions of pounds of spoiled food and continue monitoring air quality in nearby communities.
A social media video showed smoke rising from the Boyle Heights warehouse fire as state and local officials declared emergencies.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles County amid a warehouse fire in Boyle Heights.
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