Crews tear into walls of L.A. cold storage facility as fire burns for 4th day
A fire at a cold storage facility in Los Angeles has been burning for a fourth day, worsening air quality across parts of the city as crews use heavy equipment to tear through walls and reach flames still burning deep inside the building, according to fire officials.
The fire broke out Wednesday afternoon at a Lineage cold storage facility in the 1400 block of South Los Palos Street in Boyle Heights, just east of downtown Los Angeles.
Thick smoke has continued to rise from the building, and officials have urged residents across central Los Angeles and surrounding valleys to limit outdoor exposure.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued an emergency declaration on Saturday, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom later declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles County.
Shelter-in-place orders were issued for nearby residents and businesses after an ammonia leak developed inside the building and smoke spread through the area.
Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) Capt. Ryan O’Gorman said in an update on Sunday that crews worked overnight to protect an uninvolved freezer area while using heavy equipment to remove sections of wall along Union Pacific Avenue and Indiana Street.
O’Gorman said the work is being slowed by the layout inside the facility, where about 30 rows of storage racks stand 50 feet tall and stretch 600 feet long, limiting access for hose lines and heavy equipment.
Firefighters also removed electrical sources connected to solar panels and took lithium-ion-powered forklifts out of the building to reduce hazards to crews and the public.
“Today, we’re going to plan on getting extinguishment of this by utilizing heavy equipment and master streams to further reduce the fire problem that we currently have,” O’Gorman said.
Lineage, the warehousing and logistics company that leases and operates the facility, said all employees were evacuated and no injuries have been reported. The company said no cause has been determined.
“We believe the fire originated on the roof on Wednesday while the company’s subcontractors were servicing the solar array,” the company said on its website.
Lineage said it leases the roof to a third-party solar company, which operates and maintains the solar array.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
