A fire in a massive cold storage facility in Boyle Heights that started on Wednesday hasn’t stopped yet.
Firefighters have encountered a grab bag of obstacles that has made battling the blaze harder than most, including ammonia leaks, steel walls lined with gas-emitting foam and solar panels. It’s one more of the worst-case scenarios Fate seems to hand Los Angeles in almost everything these last couple of years.
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Both Gov. Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass have declared a state of emergency, freeing up resources to fight the fire and help residents deal with the aftermath. Already, community groups and the offices of Assemblymember Mark González and City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado have organized free mask and air purifier giveaways even as air quality officials have twice declared shelter-in-place orders only to quickly rescind them, insisting that residents don’t have too much to worry about right now.
Speak for yourself.
I drove up the 5 Freeway on Saturday morning and the smoke emerging from the Lineage Logistics building slowed down traffic considerably, with visibility for the stretch similar to a foggy day and drivers snapping photos of the disaster to our west. A noticeable scent permeated my car even though my windows were rolled up and my air conditioning was set to recirculation.
The smoke drifted northeast toward East Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley when I passed by. Plumes have been spotted as far east as San Bernardino County and as far west as Simi Valley as winds have shifted. On social media, friends posted photos of what should’ve been a beautiful weekend sullied by the latest reminder of where they live.
Decades of pollution in L.A.’s Eastside
For decades, Eastside residents have had to deal with pollution like few other areas of L.A. The construction of the 5, 10, 101, 710 and 60 freeways in the 1950s carved up communities and forever worsened air quality in the region. The subsequent proliferation of warehouses and factories in the adjoining cities of Vernon and City of Commerce made unpleasant smells and diesel fumes a constant of the region’s regular bouquet. In the 1980s, the famed Mothers of East Los Angeles successfully fought against the construction of an above-ground oil pipeline that would’ve crossed Boyle Heights and a proposed hazardous waste incinerator.
“Their most lasting legacy,” wrote “Smog and Sunshine: The Surprising Story of How Los Angeles Cleaned Up Its Air” author Ann Carlson in the recently released book “is that concerns about environmental justice now permeate virtually every policy discussion and decision involving measures to cut air pollution in Southern California.”
And yet the Eastside continues to have to fight for the basic right of being able to live in clean neighborhoods.
The state has spent more than $700 million remediating lead-contaminated soil caused by a battery recycling plant in Vernon that shut down in 2015. A month ago, a construction crew ruptured an oil line, spilling about 2,500 gallons of oil onto Avenida Cesar E. Chavez that went down storm drains and into the Los Angeles River.
“Communities like East L.A., like Boyle Heights, immigrant Latino communities — hardworking, everyday working-class people — bear the brunt of air pollution, of environmental hazards, of all these things that for some reason keep happening in the same neighborhoods,” Eastside Assemblymember Jessica M. Caloza said at a Saturday news conference updating residents about the Lineage Logistics inferno.
We don’t even know how bad the aftermath will be. The structure is the size of 10 football fields and can store up to 85 millions pounds of food.
“Imagine the food inside your refrigerator with no power, no refrigerant, starting to rot, and then opening up your refrigerator door, that’s about where we are now,” Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Jamie Moore said at the news conference. “So, once we get this fire put out, the challenge that we have before us is the removal of all that product.”
Wonderful.
Today’s top stories 
Smoke shrouds Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
More on the Boyle Heights fireFirefighters cite progress as Boyle Heights fire burns for fifth day.Sunday was another day of smoky air, nasty smells and many questions in parts of L.A.Here’s how to deal with the smoke and health effects of the fire. LAUSD upheavalLos Angeles schools Supt. Alberto Carvalho resigned Sunday night.His departure follows an FBI raid on his home and office tied to district contracts. Carvalho insists he committed no wrongdoing.LAUSD, led by acting Supt. Andres Chait, is facing labor deals that will strain future finances.SoCal heat waveTemperatures are expected to jump significantly across Southern California from Tuesday to Thursday this week.The National Weather Service has issued an extreme heat watch for those days.ElectionsThe man who brought California the top-two open primary now thinks it needs a drastic overhaul. In fact, he says the “top-two” part should be trashed.In L.A., as in other U.S. cities, democratic socialists are poised to expand power at City Hall.Meanwhile, AI giants are funding ad wars in races across the country.Laguna Beach’s $1.34-billion real estate scandalThe former owner of the historic Hotel Laguna won a $1.34-billion arbitration award against investor Mahender Makhijani, who was arrested June 10 by federal authorities, allegedly for bank fraud.Federal prosecutors accuse Makhijani of engineering a $100-million bank fraud, alleging that he used use shell companies, bogus collateral and threats of violence against those who crossed him.What else is going onCommentary and opinionsThe federal inquiry of Newsom creates lots of smoke. Columnist Mark Z. Barabak wonders: Is there any fire?Sports columnist Mirjam Swanson argues that Iran is right: FIFA and U.S. government must be better World Cup hosts.This morning’s must readOther must readsFor your downtime 
Marilyn Monroe street impersonator Brooks Ginnan takes selfies with riders during New Theater Hollywood’s “California Gothic: a Bus Tour” in Hollywood.
(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)
Going outStaying inQuestion of the day: What’s your favorite lesser known hike?
Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.
And finally … the photo of the day 
The Los Angeles County Museum of History, Science, and Art (LACMA) Art Parade in Los Angeles Saturday
(Ariana Drehsler/For The Times)
Today’s great photo is from Arian Drehsler of the LACMA Art Parade in Los Angeles on Saturday.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Hailey Branson-Potts, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, Fast Break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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