The company that rents the space where it operates a cold food storage facility that’s been burning for days in Boyle Heights contributed $2 million to help those affected, it announced Sunday.
Lineage, whose warehouse on South Los Palos Street has been on fire since Wednesday, said its financial contribution was given to the California Community Foundation to distribute to residents who’ve been affected by the blaze. The nonprofit organization focuses on helping Los Angeles County residents with different sectors in life such as health, housing and education.
In addition to the $2 million, Lineage said it’s working with local entities to provide air purifiers and food to those who were impacted by the fire.
“Lineage’s top priority is the health and safety of our team members, partners, and the communities in which we live and operate,” the company said in a statement. “We know many people living near our facility in Boyle Heights are deeply distraught about the fire that began on June 17, and rightfully so.”
The blaze broke out at the warehouse on Wednesday and has posed a challenge for crews. As of Sunday, crews have been able to confine the fire to one side of the nearly 500,000 square-foot building, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. On Saturday, LAFD Chief Jaime Moore said crews “mitigated the hazardous materials portion by removing the ammonia and other chemicals.”
Adding to that point, Lineage said it took steps to pump out the ammonia at its facility and transport it offsite.
A state of emergency was declared on Saturday, providing extra assistance to crews that have been responding nonstop to the fire. The blaze’s massive plume of smoke triggered air quality alerts in the Southland as the smoke traveled to blanket other parts of the region.
Temporary evacuation shelters and other resources have been made available to those who have been impacted by the fire. For more information, click here.
It’s unclear what caused the fire.