Emergency crews are working urgently to prevent a possible biohazard crisis after a massive Los Angeles warehouse fire continued burning for a fifth day, as officials warned the damaged structure could collapse.
Mayor Karen Bass said Sunday that air filters and masks will be made available to residents in Boyle Heights.
The city has also opened voluntary shelters for those seeking temporary relief.
Toxic smoke from the blaze prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency, while the South Coast Air Quality Management District cautioned residents about hazardous particle pollution.
“We will get through this, and we will always stand with the Boyle Heights community,” Bass said.
Firefighters have been fighting the flames at Lineage Logistics’ 500,000-square-foot Boyle Heights facility since Wednesday, pouring large volumes of water onto the site — a response that has gradually weakened the building’s structural stability.
Inside the warehouse, roughly 85 million pounds of frozen bread and meat products have been left to spoil.
Meanwhile, Spencer Pratt criticized Bass on Sunday over her response to the fire, claiming she was “sipping cocktails in Chicago” when the blaze broke out.
She had been in Chicago to attend the opening of Barack Obama’s presidential library.
“I warned you all…what happened to us will happen to all of LA,” Pratt said, referring to Bass’ handling of the Palisades Fire. “That smoke choking out LA is full of lead. Don’t breathe it!”
The continuous trail of smoke that’s spread beyond Los Angeles County and into the San Gabriel Valley and northwest San Bernardino Valley –and across Dodgers Stadium.
“It’s a little dark out there, little Gotham City when I was driving up,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told the Los Angeles Times.
While the Los Angeles Fire Department said air quality testing revealed no additional toxic chemicals or hazards within the smoke, health officials encouraged residents to stay indoors and experts warned that it is hard to know for certain what is actually mixed in.
“Much like recent industrial and wildfire incidents, the makeup of the smoke can include toxic chemicals, fine particles and other serious risks to lung health depending on fire conditions and what is burned,” Will Barrett, with the American Lung Association, told the Times.
The 500,000 square-foot warehouse that continues to smolder is filled with frozen meat and poses the potential threat of a biohazard crisis — something Michael Kleinman, a toxicologist and professor, said is “really unprecedented.”
“It’ll certainly be smelly and noxious, and bacteria and things are going to be growing in it,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “Obviously not getting in contact with it is an issue, but if the stuff starts to burn, it adds this biological material to the plumes, and you’re going off into territory that really is very untested.”
The LAFD is now planning on how to remove the millions of pounds of spoiled meat, but underscored that the situation “remains a complex, long-duration incident that will require sustained operations.”
As of Sunday afternoon, fire officials said they have contained the blaze to one side of the building.
“Overnight, firefighters removed portions of the exterior wall to improve access and allow for more effective water application to areas of the fire that were otherwise inaccessible,” the LAFD said.
The location of the warehouse has also helped push the smoke across the city, due to strong winds that occur in the middle of the LA Basin.
The complex situation prompted Governor Gavin Newsom to issue a state of emergency over the weekend in order to provide Los Angeles with additional resources and assistance.
