Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass formally declared an emergency on Saturday, aiming to ensure the city has the resources necessary to battle a massive warehouse fire that has been sending enormous clouds of smoke into the sky.
“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,” Bass stated in a news release announcing the emergency declaration.
The blaze broke out Wednesday at a privately owned cold-storage warehouse located in the city’s Boyle Heights neighborhood. The fire prompted officials to issue shelter-in-place orders throughout the surrounding area due to the threat of dangerous air quality. Residents were instructed to seal all windows, doors, and vents, shut off air conditioning units, and move people and pets to an interior room.
Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Jaime Moore addressed reporters at a news conference, stating that crews have addressed the hazardous materials portion of the fire and are now tackling the biohazard challenges that remain.
“We have 85 million pounds of frozen food inside of this facility and the way the building has been laid out, it’s very difficult for us to get in there because there’s zero visibility inside,” Moore explained. “Our firefighters are not able to just go in there and start moving pallets.”
Mayor Bass’s emergency declaration calls for recovery assistance under the California Disaster Assistance Act. She has also requested that the state fast-track access to resources and additional relief programs.
Bass emphasized that the top priority is protecting the health and safety of those affected by the fire. Officials are working to secure the assistance needed to remove toxic materials from the area and dispose of them in a manner that prevents a serious environmental disaster.
“So this is about prevention,” Bass said. “This is about protecting your public health.”
