A severe infestation and overpowering odor have taken hold around a Boyle Heights frozen food warehouse that was destroyed in a massive fire.
Residents are contending not only with swarms of flies fueled by tons of spoiled meat and bread, but also with flooding after a nearby water main ruptured, adding to the mounting environmental crisis.
Roughly a mile from Lineage Logistics’ 500,000-square-foot facility, the broken main left residents without water for several hours on Sunday. The warehouse, which once held 85 million pounds of frozen food, has turned into a decomposing health concern, with neighbors reporting unbearable smells, rats and dead birds across the area.
California Water Service said the damaged pipe near the cleanup zone was not connected to the fire, but FOX 11 reported that it has created yet another burden for the community. Crews are still removing spoiled food, including crab meat, beef and pig feet, while residents say the neighborhood remains engulfed by the stench.
“I hope they don’t have infections or something like that…The smells, flies. Now I’m worried about that,” Martin Ramirez, who operates a business nearby, told the outlet.
Neighbors say they are urgently waiting for a faster cleanup.
The newest problem comes less than a week after Mayor Karen Bass told Boyle Heights residents at a tense community meeting that she “will fight” for them.
Community members voiced their frustration after weeks of enduring the overwhelming odor from the burned-out warehouse.
“I see this as an environmental injustice issue,” Mayor Bass had told hundreds of frustrated residents, who packed Stevenson Middle School, demanding answers about the clean up after the blaze.
Business owners along Olympic Boulevard said they are bleeding cash as the disgusting odor pushes customers away. Fed-up neighbors are accusing the Lineage Logistics and solar contractor Altus Power for stalling the demolition and cleanup with a barrage of legal red tape.
