New shelter-in-place order in Boyle Heights after massive warehouse fire

LOS ANGELES - A new shelter-in-place order was issued Thursday in Boyle Heights, where a massive fire at a warehouse was extinguished Wednesday evening. Firefighters said smoke was being vented from the charred structure that could affect residents nearby.

The fire originated Wednesday afternoon on the solar-panel-covered roof of the cold storage facility at 1400 S. Los Palos St. The flames reached an ammonia line, which started off-gassing and led to several small explosions, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The fire prompted shelter-in-place orders that were later lifted.

The venting of the structure on Thursday, officials said, was to create a safer environment for firefighters inside the facility. LAFD officials said Thursday evening that a pocket of fire had been discovered in a freezer container at the facility, spurring a call for additional fire companies to the scene.

The new shelter-in place order came hours after fire officials provided an update about the blaze at a morning news conference. Residents were urged to stay inside their homes, close all windows and doors and turn off the air conditioning. They also said residents should bring their pets indoors.

The order encompasses an area from Interstate 5 south to Washington Boulevard; and Indiana Street west to Lorena Street, which becomes Grande Vista Avenue.

The blaze on Wednesday had sparked concerns about toxic gases spreading into neighborhoods. In a news conference that day, L.A. Fire Chief Jaime Moore said that the ammonia leak was not toxic to individuals unless they had respiratory issues or came into direct contact with the chemical.

Moore said during Thursday's news conference outside the building that there were no remaining risks for residents with respiratory issues - "absolutely zero."

"We've been monitoring the air throughout this incident - monitoring smoke columns, we are monitoring downwind, we're monitoring inside the building, we're monitoring outside the building - and we're getting absolutely no readings of any concern," he said.

Anhydrous ammonia is widely used as a refrigerant in industrial settings. The regulated, toxic substance is corrosive to the skin, eyes and lungs, and high levels of exposure can lead to choking, burns and death, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

There were no reports of injuries.

Wednesday's shelter-in-place order covered an area extending roughly from south of the 101 Freeway to Washington Boulevard, and east of Soto Street to Indiana Street.

A smoke advisory was also issued for a broad swath of East Los Angeles, with members of the public urged to limit outdoor exercise and people with health issues to remain indoors.

An air quality advisory is in place east of downtown Los Angeles and in portions of the San Gabriel Valley until 12:30 p.m. Friday, according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District. The agency warned that, as firefighting efforts progressed, smoldering material could continue to affect air quality directly downwind of the facility, as cooler smoke plumes don't rise as high into the air. That could lead to poor air quality in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles, a spokesperson wrote in an email.

Air quality management officials deployed a mobile air monitor to take measurements of metals following the path of the plume. The AQMD did not report elevated levels of ammonia in the air Wednesday.

Preliminary results from the mobile monitoring survey showed elevated particulate matter concentrations for a few seconds at a time within the plume, the AQMD said Thursday.

During those few seconds, monitors also observed increased levels of bromine and chlorine, which are typically found at trace levels during structural fires, the agency said. The levels seen were below the threshold that would cause health issues during short-term exposure, it said.

Officials were continuing to conduct mobile air monitoring and assess potential air quality impacts on Thursday, the agency said.

The fire ignited shortly after 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at a nearly 500,000-square-foot warehouse owned by Lineage Logistics.

Lineage Logistics provides cold storage and blast-freezing inside the massive structure.

"Lineage's top priority is the health and safety of our employees, partners, and the communities in which we live and operate," a spokesperson for the company said in a statement Thursday. "We are aware of the incident and are working closely with local officials and first responder teams to assess the situation and provide support. This is an evolving matter, and we will provide updates as appropriate."

Lineage Logistics has previously been accused of failing to comply with safety regulations to prevent the accidental release of anhydrous ammonia. In 2023, the company agreed to pay a fine to the EPA over how its facility in Altoona, Iowa, managed chemical risk posed by the more than 10,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia stored on site.

Its Boyle Heights warehouse also caught fire in August 2024, although that incident was significantly less dramatic. Crews quickly established hose lines on the roof and contained the blaze to a portion of the solar panels atop the structure, achieving knockdown in 48 minutes with no injuries reported, the Fire Department said at the time.

(Times staff writers Alex Wigglesworth and Ruben Vives contributed to this report.)

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