Mayor Karen Bass has declared a state of emergency for Los Angeles due to a massive blaze at a cold-storage facility, with firefighters struggling to contain the situation.
Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, a representative at Boyle Heights stated, “This emergency declaration is crucial because Boyle Heights is not just responding to a fire. Residents have lived through days of smoke, shelter-in-place orders, disruptions to daily life, and ongoing questions about what this means for their health and well-being.”
The emergency declaration asks Governor Gavin Newsom to speed up state relief and to send any aid accessible under the California Disaster Assistance Act.
Firefighters extinguished the rooftop burn quickly, with smoke wafting away across the Metro area after the wind into other areas of the country.
Initially, officials ordered local residents to shelter in place due to extreme air pollution and the possibility of ammonia contamination. The city and county have opened smoke relief centers.
Bass released a statement, which read, “The city and county have opened spaces for families seeking relief from the smoke, and we will continue working around the clock and doing everything possible to put this fire out completely.”
The solar-panel array blanketing the roof of the 500,000-sq-ft cold-storage facility in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles caught fire on 17 June.
While firefighters have been continuously working to contain the situation, an ammonia line ruptured, igniting the blaze.
Ammonia, a commonly used commercial refrigerant, is highly flammable and can emit toxic fumes.
Firefighters were forced to retreat and try to contain the conflagration from a safer distance, while using air drops of water from helicopters to help put it out. Foam within the building has continued to slowly burn, according to the Los Angeles Times.
