Los Angeles is preparing to declare a state of emergency as a large warehouse fire sends smoke drifting across wide areas of the city.
Fire officials have advised residents to remain indoors after smoke from the blaze at a cold-storage facility in Boyle Heights became visible and detectable by smell from miles away.
Mayor Karen Bass said she had reached out to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office for assistance and that an emergency declaration was in the works, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“Our chief concern is for your safety and for your health,” Bass said. “No smoke is good, but especially the smoke that could be toxic because of the chemicals that were needed to keep the food frozen in the facility.”
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The Los Angeles Fire Department urged people to stay inside and rely on air conditioning rather than opening windows, citing hazardous “products of combustion” from materials burning inside the facility.
“These products of combustion are just not good for anybody to breathe, period,” an LAFD spokesperson told The California Post.
The spokesperson added that much of Los Angeles could notice the odor from the fire, with residents in surrounding parts of the county also reporting the smell on Saturday.
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