The fire at\u00a01400 S. Los Palos St. broke out Wednesday afternoon, rapidly growing into a large blaze and later reaching an ammonia line, triggering several smaller explosions. Small fires are still burning as smoke billows from the site, and officials are warning of wider threats\u2014including a potential biohazard risk from spoiling food\u2014at the facility.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoyle Heights is not just responding to a fire,\u201d Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, who represents Boyle Heights, said on Saturday. \u201cResidents have lived through days of smoke, shelter-in-place orders, disruptions to daily life, and ongoing questions about what this means for their health and well-being.\u201d<\/p>\n
Newsweek has contacted the Los Angeles\u00a0County Department of\u00a0Public Health<\/a> outside of regular working hours for comment.<\/p>\n What Caused the Fire?<\/p>\n The exact cause of the fire remains unknown, and officials have said a full investigation will be conducted once the issue is resolved.<\/p>\n A person rides a bicycle as a massive warehouse fire at a cold storage facility continues to burn and spread smoke around the city on June 20, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.<\/p>\n In a statement quoted by CBS News<\/a>, Lineage Logistics, the tenant-operator of the site, said it believes the fire began \u201cwhile testing was being conducted by contractors of the third-party owner of the solar array located on the facility\u2019s roof.\u201d<\/p>\n According to ABC7 Los Angeles<\/a>, the same solar-paneled roof caught fire in August 2024. In a far shorter operation, firefighters were able to contain that blaze in under an hour, and no injuries were reported as a result.<\/p>\n Why Is The Fire Still Raging?<\/p>\n The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) has described the fire as \u201creally complicated<\/a>,\u201d and employed several unique methods when trying to contain it. LAFD helicopters have been dumping water on the building this week, supporting crews who have been working to cool hot spots buried within the structure.<\/p>\n \u201cOur city firefighting brothers and sisters are executing a meticulous, deeply challenging operation to bring the fire under control,\u201d said Los Angeles County Fire Chief Jon O\u2019Brien, as quoted by <\/a>CBS News<\/a>. \u201cBecause of this, incident operations will continue into the foreseeable future.\u201d<\/p>\n Water is dropped by helicopter at a warehouse fire in the Boyle Heights section of Los Angeles on Wednesday, June 17, 2026.<\/p>\n Officials said the fire was largely confined to the roof area by Thursday afternoon, but crews later witnessed additional flames inside the building. On Saturday, O\u2019Brien said<\/a> that pockets of fire continued to burn beneath debris and solar panels.<\/p>\n What Are the Risks?<\/p>\n A ruptured ammonia line delayed firefighters\u2019 response and caused a number of small explosions, according to LAFD Chief Jamie Moore<\/a>, raising concerns that ammonia tanks within the building could cause further issues. However, a firefighter told KTLA 5<\/a> on Friday that crews had been able to \u201ccompletely\u201d remove the \u201chazardous materials\u201d from the site.<\/p>\n The Los Angeles Times<\/a> reported on Friday that the building\u2019s walls are fitted with foam that was emitting gases due to the fire, potentially posing a risk to individuals in the area. Officials have urged residents to wear N95 and P100 masks to mitigate the effects, and the city is distributing these as well as air purifiers and other emergency supplies. A \u201cparticle pollution advisory<\/a>\u201d was in effect until midday on Saturday.<\/p>\n The \u2018Hazard\u2019 of Rotting Food<\/p>\n The 500,000-square-foot facility also houses around 45,000 tons of food, which Moore described as \u201cour next challenge,\u201d during a press conference<\/a> on Saturday.<\/p>\n \u201cAll that food is slowly beginning to rot. It\u2019s no longer frozen. It\u2019s warming up and it\u2019s going to start to spoil,\u201d Moore said, adding that the meats stored at the building are \u201cgoing to create a hazard in itself.\u201d<\/p>\n Officials have also warned of the risk posed by lithium-ion batteries at the site, the Los Angeles Times reported, which are used to store the energy produced by solar panels, The building contains around 60 forklifts that run on these batteries, though these have been removed according to LAFD Battalion Chief Nicholas Ferrari.<\/p>\n Shelter In place orders that were in effect this week have now been lifted, but officials say efforts to contain the blaze are ongoing.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/871d18c0ee730ed3a8dd98b384f2606e.jpeg\"\/)
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