Boyle Heights warehouse fire leaves residents trapped in toxic smoke

The smoke had begun to thin, but Boyle Heights was still living inside its aftermath. Residents near 1400 S. Los Palos Street spent days under shelter orders and air-quality warnings after fire tore through Lineage’s cold-storage warehouse, a roughly 490,000- to 500,000-square-foot facility with solar panels on the roof.

The fire started shortly after 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 17, and quickly turned into a hazardous-materials incident. Firefighters said the blaze appeared to involve the roof and solar panel system first, then compromised an ammonia line inside the building before that leak was contained. About 70 people were evacuated from two streets, and nearby residents and workers were told to shelter in place across an area south of the 101 Freeway to Washington Boulevard and east of Soto Street to Indiana Street. The initial order was lifted around 8:45 p.m., then re-issued Thursday as crews prepared to ventilate smoke from the building.

Even after officials said the immediate fire zone was under control, the neighborhood kept breathing the consequences. The South Coast Air Quality Management District extended a Particle Pollution Advisory through 12:30 p.m. Friday, warning that smoke continued to affect central and southeast Los Angeles, the San Gabriel Valley and the San Fernando Valley. Residents were told to stay indoors with windows and doors closed, avoid vigorous physical activity and use air conditioning or air purifiers. Thick black smoke was visible for miles, blowing over downtown Los Angeles and drifting east under weak winds.

Los Angeles Fire Department crews shifted tactics as conditions worsened, moving away from roof operations and relying on exterior water streams and helicopter drops to hit flames spreading across the rooftop solar panels. Firefighters later found a pocket of fire in a freezer container inside the building while still working to fully extinguish the blaze. Fire department officials said the ammonia itself was not toxic unless people had respiratory issues or came into direct contact with it, but adjacent structures were evacuated to prevent exposure. No injuries were reported.

The emergency also revived concern about the site itself. The same building had a solar-panel fire in August 2024, adding to questions about how rooftop solar arrays, refrigeration systems and cold-storage construction complicate fire response in dense neighborhoods. Los Angeles City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado said she would keep pushing for emergency response, air monitoring, hazardous debris removal, environmental remediation and public health protections. LAFD Chief Jaime Moore said crews had made significant progress and could finish by the end of the week if that progress held.