Firefighters battle Los Angeles frozen-food warehouse blaze for sixth day

Firefighters were still battling a stubborn blaze at a massive cold-storage warehouse in Boyle Heights six days after flames first broke out just before 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 17. The fire started at the Lineage facility in the 1400 block of South Los Palos Street, and officials initially believed it was confined to the roof and solar panel system before it spread deeper into the building.

The scale of the warehouse has made every step more difficult. The building is nearly 491,000 to 500,000 square feet and stores frozen bread and meat products on a vast interior layout that includes refrigeration equipment, freezer containers and steel racks. Crews said they found a pocket of fire inside a freezer container, and an ammonia line was compromised before being brought under control, adding another layer of hazard to the operation. Firefighters also had to cut away parts of the exterior walls to reach hot spots inside, while the roof remained a concern because the steel racks were helping support the structure.

Smoke from the fire drifted across large parts of Los Angeles and set off repeated public-safety warnings. About 70 people were evacuated from two streets near the warehouse, the Los Angeles Police Department issued a citywide tactical alert, and shelter-in-place orders were lifted and then re-issued as crews worked to ventilate the building. The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a particle pollution advisory, and air readings across Los Angeles ranged from moderate to unhealthy for sensitive groups.

The emergency quickly expanded beyond the burn site. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass declared a local emergency on Saturday, June 20, and Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Los Angeles County the same day. Newsom’s office said the state was preparing 5.5 million N95 masks, commercial-grade air purifiers, bottled water and other supplies. Temporary shelters were opened at Pecan Recreation Center and City Terrace Park so residents could pick up masks and water.

The fire has also renewed scrutiny of the building itself. Lineage said the likely cause involved testing by solar contractors on a rooftop solar array, and the company pledged $2 million to the California Community Foundation to support affected residents. Officials said the warehouse held more than 80 million pounds of frozen food, with some estimates reaching 85 million, raising fears that decaying product could create a biohazard if the fire dragged on. The same building caught fire in August 2024, and this latest blaze has become a case study in how an aging industrial facility in a dense urban neighborhood can turn a single roof fire into a days-long emergency.