A group of Boyle Heights neighbors and community members Thursday demanded the burned Lineage storage facility be shut down permanently and moved out of their neighborhood as cleanup efforts continued.
The fire, which broke out inside the 500,000-square-foot cold food storage building owned by Lineage Logistics on June 17, was knocked down after burning for eight days.
But the remaining hot spots inside the building have hampered the cleanup process, not to mentions 85 million pounds of rotting food. The smoke from the fire, the unbearable stench of spoiled food and swarming rodents are a few examples of “environmental injustice,” according to Boyle Heights community members.
“This is environmental racism,” said Carlos Montes, a Boyle Heights resident. “This is not permitted in the rich white communities. This is a crisis, so we are here to say, ‘Out with Lineage.'”
Among neighbors who want the store facility to move out of their area was an elementary student named Nathan Maldonado. Wearing his N95 mask, the boy said “he’s mad.”
“They’re not cleaning up fast. I can’t go play outside,” he said. “The bad smells in the air. All the smoke since the fire started. And that is a suffering that all kids are going through, and they don’t deserve that.”
Despite some neighbors questioning why bigger machinery, such as a bulldozer, was not brought into quickly remove trash and debris, the owner of Lineage said it’s hired a remediation companied called Signal Restoration Services and Clean Harbor to put crews and equipment on the ground 24/7.
Greg Lehmkuhl, the CEO of Lineage, said in a statement that misting systems are being installed in and around the burned facility to deodorize the air while conducting “real-time air quality monitoring” at eight locations in the neighborhood, especially near schools. The air monitoring data can be viewed here.
“Boyle Heights is not just where we operate. Lineage has been part of this neighborhood for over 20 years and the greater Los Angeles area for even longer, employing thousands of residents and contributing to the economic life of this city,” Lehmkuhl said.
Cleanup crews are using sealed containers when they remove rotting food from the building as part of the odor-mitigating efforts, according to the company.
Also Orkin was hired to address rodents and pests coming for the spoiled food in the area, Lehmkuh added.
The company did not say how long it will take to complete the cleanup process, but Lehmkuhl said crews are on site working on this recovery 24/7. Earlier this week, Mayor Karen Bass signed executive orders, mandating that Lineage complete the cleanup and removal of food trash within 45 days.