Fire and other hazards at a cold storage facility in Boyle Heights continue to smolder and flare-up as crews maintain aerial and ground suppression efforts, Los Angeles Fire Department officials said Sunday.
“Ground crews [remained] actively engaged throughout the night, utilizing a large amount of water and the LAFD structural firefighting robot,” department officials said. “Firefighter safety remains the top priority, as crews have identified areas of wall instability due to the significant volume of water being applied to the structure. Smoke conditions are expected to continue evolving as weather conditions change and suppression efforts progress. This remains a complex, long-duration incident that will require sustained operations.”
Additional resources were also being put in place at and around the 491,000-square-foot Lineage Logistics warehouse at 1400 S. Los Palos St. after Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass each issued a Declaration of Emergency to support the ongoing fire fight, which began Wednesday.
“California is deploying specialized resources, supporting local firefighters and pre-positioning critical supplies to protect communities and accelerate recovery,” Newsom said in issuing the declaration.
No shelter-in-place or evacuation orders were issued as of Sunday morning, but officials were urging the public to limit outdoor exposure as much as possible and keep doors and windows closed.
Two shelter locations were opened to support anyone affected by the fire: a city facility at the 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 shelter at 2900 Whittier Blvd. where it is also distributing masks.
A special Particle Pollution Advisory issued by the South Coast Air Quality Management District was extended until at least 12:30 p.m. Sunday.
“While the LAFD continues making progress, this is a major, multi- jurisdictional incident,” Bass said in a statement Saturday afternoon. “I’m issuing an emergency declaration to ensure the city has the resources it needs as this operation continues and to keep the community safe. 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.”
The emergency declaration does several things, including:
— Directs the city’s Emergency Operations Organization to be immediately activated and to take “such steps as may be necessary or appropriate for the protection of life, health or property.”
— Directs all city departments impacted by this event, and its ongoing effects, to conduct damage assessments and collect any relevant cost estimates.
— Requests that the governor waive regulations that may hinder response and recovery efforts; that recovery assistance be made available under the California Disaster Assistance Act; and that the state expedite access to state and federal resources and any other appropriate disaster relief programs.
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda Solis, who represents East L.A., said she will introduce a motion on Tuesday to declare a state of emergency at the county level as well.
Meanwhile, Solis said the City Terrace Park shelter was providing masks, bottled water, non-perishable food and information from public health and air quality officials. Transportation assistance, including coordinated rides, will also be made available to help residents safely access the site, she said.
Information about the shelter, available services or transportation assistance is available at AlertLA.org.
The fire initially began shortly after 2:30 p.m. Wednesday and rapidly spread across solar panels on the warehouse while an ammonia leak developed inside the building and thick smoke billowed into the air, prompting shelter-in-place orders for nearby residents and businesses.
At about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, fire officials reported the spread of the flames on the roof had been halted, and the shelter-in-place order was lifted. In a later update, however, they said changing winds re-ignited hot spots inside the building, and by Friday firefighters were again battling flames and conducting overhaul operations as smoke continued to rise from the damaged structure.
A shift in the wind caused the flare-up, which was reported shortly after 5 p.m. Friday.
LAFD officials said Saturday that crews spent the night working to ensure the fire did not spread to nearby homes and other units in the complex, including an adjacent cold storage facility.
“The good news is, all of our air monitoring that has been done by our department, Hazmat, LA County Hazmat, as well as AQMD, has shown that there are no additional toxic chemicals or hazards within that smoke other than normal structure fire smoke,” LAFD Capt. Branden Silverman said. “That said, no smoke is good smoke. We know that people are being affected by this in our city as well as LA County’s jurisdiction, and we do want you to take precautions to avoid that smoke whenever possible.”
Lineage Logistics officials said they are working with fire officials and offered a preliminary assessment of the fire’s cause and risks.
“At this time, we believe the fire began while testing was being conducted by contractors of the third-party owner of the solar array located on the facility’s roof,” company officials said in a late Friday statement. “This facility is not used for the storage of hazardous materials. It primarily serves as a temperature-controlled storage facility for frozen food before it makes its way to Greater Los Angeles area communities and beyond.
“Our understanding from LAFD and AQMD is that there have been no measurable ammonia concentrations recorded in the community since the fire started. Additionally, Lineage has proactively taken additional steps to pump out the ammonia and transport it offsite, removing the possibility of ammonia posing a risk to the community.”
No injuries had been reported as of Sunday morning.