LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday is expected to approve a declaration of a local emergency to mobilize resources in the ongoing fight against a cold-storage fire in Boyle Heights that has burned for almost a week.
The vote is expected as a formality, with the declaration likely to be ratified. Supervisor and Board Chair Hilda Solis, who represents East L.A. cities and unincorporated areas, enacted a joint declaration alongside L.A. Mayor Karen Bass on Saturday.
The local emergency declarations did several things, including:
— Activated emergency operations and to take “such steps as may be necessary or appropriate for the protection of life, health or property.”
— Directed certain departments impacted by this event, and its ongoing effects, to conduct damage assessments and collect any relevant cost estimates, and;
— Requested that the governor waive regulations that may hinder response and recovery efforts; that recovery assistance be made available under the California Disaster Assistance Act; and that the state expedite access to state and federal resources and any other appropriate disaster relief programs.
Gov. Gavin Newsom similarly enacted a state of emergency to mobilize state resources, as well as to assist in post-recovery efforts.
On Monday, while the board finalized the budget for fiscal year 2026- 27, Solis said she felt somber amid the ongoing fire emergency.
“Tomorrow, we’ll technically vote on it during our board meeting, but it is official,” Solis said.
The declaration, in part, will authorize the county, just like the city, to receive funds and other resources that they need.
She thanked first responders for their efforts in addressing the Lineage warehouse fire. The fire is within the city’s jurisdiction, but more than 250 households are immediately impacted in East L.A., the county’s unincorporated area.
Solis also gave a shout out to residents who have been so resilient during the extended firefight, and made a commitment to advocate for them.
“Some don’t know who to call, and there’s a lot of confusion, and I hope that we can clarify that as we move through this process,” Solis said.
The hazards associated with the emergency goes beyond the city’s limits, Solis added.
Solis explained the county responded immediately to the fire and provided assistance to the city when the fire erupted last Wednesday. She detailed those efforts because there have been critics who have said they were not present in the onset.
“We were (there), and we were standing next to our fire responders who gave us minute-by-minute disclosures as to how this was going to be handled, what we need to do, and to remain safe, and that to me is first and foremost,” Solis said.
“We went door-to-door and started distributing masks and public information in English and Spanish to residents most impacted in the neighboring area,” Solis added.
One of those critics was former Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo, who represented Boyle Heights from 2022 to 2024. She was recently locked out of a runoff to represent state Senate District 26, represented by Maria Elena Durazo.
“DO YOUR JOB,” Carrillo wrote in a social media post on Friday. “The Boyle Heights fire is one block from unincorporated East Los Angeles.”
“You claim to be our `Mayor,’ but while you’re busy talking to the press, families in East Los Angeles are breathing toxic air and dangerous particulate matter,” Carrillo added.
As the fire continued burning, air quality concerns have persisted for large swaths of Los Angeles, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and South Coast Air Quality Management District have not detected anything beyond normal combustible material typical after a fire, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman said.
A special Particle Pollution Advisory issued by the AQMD was extended until at least 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.
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