Massive Los Angeles warehouse fire triggers shelter-in-place order

The Los Angeles Fire Department told people to close windows, doors and vents, turn off air conditioning, and bring people and pets indoors while firefighters worked the roof. About 70 people were evacuated from two streets as the blaze burned on the roof of a nearly 491,000-square-foot Lineage cold food storage facility, where solar panels also caught fire. Three water-dropping helicopters joined ladder trucks on the response, an unusual step for a building fire but one that helped suppress the flames and keep them from spreading deeper into the structure.

Public health concerns centered on what the fire could release, not just on the smoke itself. Fire officials said an ammonia line was compromised, triggering hazmat concerns in a building used for cold storage, where ammonia is commonly part of refrigeration systems. The leak was later contained and the immediate danger had dissipated, but crews continued to assess the interior, monitor air quality and watch runoff for contamination. The shelter-in-place order was lifted around 8:45 p.m., though smoke advisories remained in effect for people with sensitive health issues.

The Los Angeles Police Department issued a citywide tactical alert to increase available officers as crews worked around South Los Palos Street and nearby corridors including Soto Street, Indiana Street and Washington Boulevard, with traffic pressure extending toward the 101 Freeway and across neighborhoods in Boyle Heights, Downtown Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley. The response underscored how a single warehouse blaze can ripple outward through streets, transit and emergency services long after the first flames are knocked down.