{"id":17391,"date":"2026-06-24T04:04:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T04:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=17391"},"modified":"2026-06-24T04:04:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T04:04:42","slug":"boyle-heights-fire-la-county-declares-emergency-reports-of-la-river-pollutants-studied","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=17391","title":{"rendered":"Boyle Heights fire: LA County declares emergency; reports of LA River pollutants studied"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors ratified a local emergency and streamlined county resources on Tuesday, June 23, for residents in unincorporated East Los Angeles and nearby cities affected by breathing thick smoke from the warehouse fire in Boyle Heights burning for a seventh day, as reports of possible environmental damage surfaced along the area\u2019s waterways.<\/p>

Read more What we know about the solar array at the center of Boyle Heights fire<\/a><\/p>\n

Smoke rose anew from the smoldering Lineage cold-storage facility on Tuesday, again darkening the skies in the area. Fire crews continued to pour water on the fire inside the badly damaged hulk; they still hope to fully douse the frustrating week-old blaze by Friday.<\/p>\n

First District Supervisor and Board Chair Hilda Solis said at the board meeting she\u2019d heard runoff from firefighting efforts had reached the Los Angeles River, killing fish downstream. However, killing of fish could not be verified by officials at the Los Angeles Fire Department, who were still checking on the situation Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have containment booms at two locations on the L.A. River: one at the outfall of the storm drain system serving the area of the cold-storage facility (on fire), and the other at Willow Street in Long Beach,\u201d said Kerjon Lee, spokesperson for L.A. County Public Works.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re in place to prevent solid materials from traveling downstream while allowing water runoff to continue flowing. Public Works contracted with Ocean Blue for removal of fish,\u201d he wrote in an email. \u201cThe results of testing take a couple of days, so we can\u2019t say definitely at this point what caused the fish kill,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

A person who works for Ocean Blue Environmental Services whose workers were seen cleaning the river of dead fish said he could not comment because his company was \u201cworking for the county.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, two motions passed by the board will launch county environmental assessments, and also directs the county counsel\u2019s office to investigate the fire, including Lineage, the owner of the massive, 500,000-square-foot cold-storage warehouse at 1400 S. Los Palos St. on the border of the city of Los Angeles and East L.A. for possible enforcement actions and compensation for affected residents and businesses.<\/p>\n

The same facility caught fire previously in August 2024, Solis reported. Lineage had paid a fine to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency relating to a facility in Iowa, according to county documents.<\/p>

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The Los Angeles County Fire Department\u2019s arson unit is conducting an active investigation of the cause of the Boyle Heights fire, Raabe said.<\/p>\n

In the past week, the fire has sent plumes of thick smoke into the air after solar panels on the roof caught fire. The smoke, sometimes black, often white, sent particulate matter known as PM2.5 into the region, causing very unhealthful air in Boyle Heights and East L.A. and lesser concentrations of hazy smoke affecting cities from Los Angeles to Pasadena and south to Downey for the past week, where many residents stayed indoors and ran air conditioners.<\/p>\n

\u201cI declared a local emergency because the scale of this fire demands an all-hands-on-deck response and every available resource to protect residents, workers and first responders,\u201d Solis said. Her declaration on Saturday, June 20 was verified by a 5-0 vote on Tuesday, along with a second motion to bring more resources to affected residents.<\/p>\n

So far, Solis said her office provided 2,300 air purifiers to East L.A. residents and 10,000 N95 masks as well as 1,500 boxes of food to those affected by smoke and foul air quality. About 600 households in East L.A. were affected, the county reported.<\/p>

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Some residents in East L.A. and other cites nearby reported nausea, headaches and anxiety, said Fourth District Supervisor Janice Hahn. Solis said some who were examined by county medical officials had irregular heart beats and were suffering asthma attacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe East Los Angeles community historically has faced environmental injustice,\u201d Hahn said. \u201cNow there\u2019s this latest disaster when they can least afford it financially and health-wise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hahn added in a statement that she wouldn\u2019t be surprised if runoff from the fire killed fish in the L.A. River near Long Beach. \u201cWhoever is found to be responsible for this fire must be held accountable for the impacts it\u2019s had on our residents\u2019 quality of life, on our wildlife, and on our environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

In late May, an oil spill from a ruptured oil pipe poured 25,000 gallons of crude oil into a the intersection of Eastern Avenue and Cesar Chavez Avenue in unincorporated East L.A. Many businesses were shut down for days and lost revenue. The oil reached the L.A. River, badly coating more than 131 birds with oil and killing 27.<\/p>

Read more Jury to begin deliberating Palisades fire arson trial; was the deadly blaze an act of revenge or accidentally caused by holiday fireworks?<\/a><\/p>\n