BOYLE HEIGHTS (CNS) – The Los Angeles Fire Department expects to hand the fire-damaged cold-storage food warehouse in Boyle Heights back to the tenant, Lineage Logistics, and the owner, Altus Power, Friday.
Firefighters managed to save half of the nearly 500,000-square-foot facility although the entire structure suffered extensive smoke and water damage, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The half of the building impacted directly by the fire was largely dismantled during the firefight, and will likely be torn down in its entirety, fire officials said.
Although the fire department will hand off the building to the owner and tenant, cleanup efforts will continue and fire crews will remain on the scene although they have successfully knocked down the stubborn fire after a week of battling the massive blaze.
Tons of food remained spoiling in the cold-storage food warehouse more than a week after the raging fire broke out.
On Thursday, those at the scene reported and residents complained about the smell of rotting food permeating the air outside the facility.
Firefighters moved into the overhaul phase of operations at the Lineage warehouse Wednesday night, after a knockdown of the fire was declared after eight days.
Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Jamie Moore noted that crews were still spraying water into the building as part of the overhaul effort.
“We’re keeping everything well wet and cool, and we do have a small portion of area in the center of this building that is covered with product, where we still have a little bit of fire,” he said. “And we know that. But it’s just too unsafe for our firefighters to get in there and dig that out, and that’s what the overhaul process is all about.”
He said the department is on track to return control of the building to Lineage by Friday, but noted there is still substantial work remaining to overhaul the structure — most notably disposing of the roughly 85 million pounds of frozen food that was in the warehouse.
Mayor Karen Bass said she will be issuing an executive order designed to “mobilize additional resources for Boyle Heights, as we enter the remediation and cleanup stage, including limiting the impacts as much as possible related to the cleanup of 85 million pounds of food.”
Bass said air purifiers and masks are still being made available to residents, and mobile health clinics are being brought into the community.
The knockdown of the Palos Fire at 1400 S. Los Palos St. was declared at 5:58 p.m. Wednesday by the LAFD, meaning the fire was no longer progressing.
Smoke conditions in the surrounding area have improved significantly but some smoke may remain visible as firefighters continue to access and extinguish deep-seated hot spots. Firefighters will continue applying water throughout the structure to ensure complete extinguishment, according to the LAFD.
A special Particle Pollution Advisory issued by the South Coast Air Quality Management District expired at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Moore said the city’s Emergency Management Department, Sanitation Department and other agencies were actively involved in the overhaul operations “to make sure that we continue to protect the community here in Boyle Heights.
“We have sanitation straining the water so that we can ensure that the water that’s going into the storm drains is not going to affect or pollute our oceans,” Moore said. “They’re monitoring the quality of the water that’s going in there, and yes, you’re seeing product — some it’s what was at one time frozen fish, frozen animal products, some of it’s bakery products — flowing towards those strainers. But we’re catching them before they get into the draining, so it doesn’t end up in our oceans.”
Drones equipped with infrared cameras remain in operation, identifying hidden heat sources in the building and allowing crews to direct high- volume water streams precisely where needed, according to the department.
Earlier Wednesday, the department announced flames on the roof had been eliminated, allowing firefighters to focus on smoldering hot spots inside the damaged structure.
The warehouse fire erupted about 2:30 p.m. June 17. While crews initially believed they had contained the blaze — in part through the rare use of water-dropping helicopters on a structure fire — pockets of fire continued to burn inside the structure.
As the fire continued burning, air quality concerns persisted for large swaths of Los Angeles, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and AQMD have not detected anything beyond normal combustible material typical after a fire, authorities said.
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