Millions of pounds of spoiled food left inside a Boyle Heights cold-storage warehouse are raising concerns about rats, odors, and potential health hazards.
The Lineage warehouse fire, which burned for over a week, was officially declared extinguished on Wednesday. Firefighters remain at the site near Union Pacific Avenue and Indiana Street, monitoring for lingering hot spots while cleanup operations commence.
Officials estimate that the 500,000-square-foot warehouse contained approximately 85 million pounds of frozen food and other products when the fire broke out on June 17. Without refrigeration, much of the inventory has spoiled, creating a strong odor that has replaced the smoke that previously blanketed the area. The decaying food has attracted rodents, as reported by KTLA’s Erin Myers.
Lineage has hired Signal Restoration Services to lead the cleanup effort. The company plans to use water-tight trailers and containers to transport waste offsite, aiming to minimize odors and other impacts on the surrounding community. Sanitation crews are also filtering contaminated runoff from firefighting operations to prevent food waste and debris from entering storm drains.
Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Jaime Moore stated, “You’re seeing product. Some of it was at one time frozen fish, frozen animal products, some of it bakery products, flowing toward those strainers, but we’re catching them before they get into the drainage system, so it doesn’t end up in our oceans.”
Despite the expiration of the regional air quality advisory, some residents remain concerned about potential long-term effects. A mobile health clinic will be available Friday and Saturday to provide respiratory and physical exams for those worried about exposure. Face masks continue to be available.
The fire’s cause is still under investigation, though it may have started while a third-party contractor was testing rooftop solar panels. Lineage emphasized that the facility stored frozen food rather than hazardous materials and that no airborne ammonia was detected during the fire.
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