A cold storage facility has been burning since Wednesday, sending smoke across downtown Los Angeles
A massive warehouse fire in Boyle Heights has been burning since Wednesday afternoon and is still not out. Firefighters with the Los Angeles Fire Department were still battling the blaze Saturday morning, four days into an operation that has proved more complicated and more persistent than almost any residential or commercial fire the department typically encounters.
The fire began around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at a cold storage facility owned by Lineage Logistics in the 1400 block of South Los Palos Street. The building covers nearly 500,000 square feet and presented firefighters with a difficult combination of structural concerns, potential hazardous materials, and a fire that kept finding new fuel even after initial suppression efforts appeared to make progress.
How the fire has evolved
The blaze was initially knocked back Wednesday but reignited Thursday after fire was discovered inside a freezer area of the facility. Flare-ups tied to solar panels covering the roof complicated efforts further, generating large plumes of black smoke visible from miles away across the downtown Los Angeles area.
Lineage released a statement indicating the company believes the fire originated when contractors were conducting testing on the solar array on the roof. The company said it was cooperating with the LAFD and other investigating agencies. The official cause of the fire had not been formally determined as of Saturday morning, and investigators noted the same facility was the site of a separate fire a few years earlier.
A shelter-in-place order was issued for surrounding neighborhoods Thursday as the smoke intensified, advising residents to keep windows and doors shut and remain indoors. The order was lifted, then reinstated, and lifted again on Friday. A smoke advisory for the area remained in place Saturday.
What the fire is doing to the air
Extensive air monitoring conducted Friday did not detect hazardous materials in the smoke, according to fire officials. That finding provided some reassurance given the nature of the facility, a cold storage operation that could contain ammonia or other refrigerants. However, fire officials were direct that the absence of detected hazardous materials does not mean the smoke is safe to breathe. Smoke and particulate matter remained visible across the area and residents were still advised to limit outdoor exposure.
The smoke had spread well beyond the immediate neighborhood by Saturday morning, covering downtown Los Angeles in a visible haze. Two emergency shelters were opened for residents displaced or affected by the fire, one at Pecan Recreation Center and another at City Terrace Park.
Why the fire has been so difficult to contain
The scale of the building is part of the problem. At nearly 500,000 square feet, the facility gives the fire significant room to move, and structural concerns have prevented crews from fully entering certain areas. The department has been relying heavily on helicopter operations to attack the fire from above, an approach that allows sustained water application without requiring ground crews to work in compromised interior spaces.
An LAFD battalion chief told reporters Friday that the fire should be expected to cycle through visible and quieter phases before it is fully extinguished. When smoke decreases and the fire appears to be dying, another flare-up driven by changing wind conditions or the structure’s internal layout can bring it back quickly. Crews were working around the clock and the department emphasized it would not stop until the fire was fully out.
Mayor Karen Bass addressed residents at a Friday evening press conference, acknowledging the disruption the fire had caused to the surrounding community and expressing confidence that crews would bring it under control.
The investigation into how the fire started, and why it has proved so resistant to suppression, was continuing Saturday alongside the active firefighting effort.