Major flare-up as crews battle Boyle Heights warehouse fire; smoke advisory remains in place

Smoke is still billowing out of the Boyle Heights building, days after the giant warehouse fire broke out. That's keeping air quality concerns top of mind for residents in the immediate area and beyond.

The smell of smoke is covering large swath as an air quality alert remains in effect for areas into West Hollywood, Downey and Compton.

Many in those areas, including near the ABC7 studio in Glendale, will likely notice the smell. No new fires have been reported as of Friday morning.

A special particle pollution advisory will be in effect at least through 12:30 p.m., the South Coast Air Quality Management District said.

The Los Angeles Fire Department shared new insight Friday night into the response efforts at the site of the massive fire in Boyle Heights.

The fire department said the massive blaze that broke out Wednesday is considered a "very complex" fire with numerous hazards for firefighters, which is why crews have not been able to fully enter the building yet.

When crews vented the building to let smoke out, incoming fresh air fueled the fire, which is now burning in the foam insulation in the ceiling and within the 58-foot-tall storage racks.

Aerial drops helped knock the fire down, but it is not fully extinguished.

The fire department said there are electrical issues and concerns about the racks' stability to assess before crews can be sent inside.

It may take some time to fully extinguish the fire. The shelter-in-place order was issued again Thursday due to smoke from the fire.

LAFD said there are no chemicals in the smoke other than the standard particulates found in a structure fire.

Residents near the burning cold storage warehouse in Boyle Heights were again ordered to stay indoors as the facility continued to smolder, prompting an ongoing air quality advisory through Friday.

Jesus Delgado, who lives just yards from the burning site, said the smell in the area has been overwhelming.

Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Jaime Moore said investigators are looking into the expansive array of solar panels covering the facility's roof as they work to find out what started the massive blaze.

"It smells like burned rubber," he said.

Delgado and his grandmother evacuated during the height of the fire as crews made more than 30 water drops to control the blaze. When he returned Thursday, he found the fire extinguished but the building still being ventilated, and authorities had issued a new shelter-in-place order due to the smoky conditions.

"It will cause a lot of headaches for those that have trouble, like say that they're sick or something ... it will really affect them a lot," Delgado said.

Despite the lingering odor, Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Jaime Moore said monitoring has not detected dangerous conditions.

"We're getting absolutely no readings of any concern," he said.

The facility, operated by a company called Lineage, is used to store food and beverages and utilizes a process known as "blast freezing," according to its website.

Moore said the fire appears to have started in an expansive array of solar panels covering the facility's roof.

"This a huge field of solar panels. This entire roof is covered with solar panels, so obviously there's some sort of concern there with the way it was built, and that's something they're going to be looking at and trying to investigate," Moore said.

Authorities said they continue to monitor conditions as the investigation into the cause of the fire moves forward.

We are hearing from the Lineage company for the first time since a massive fire involving solar panels broke out at their cold storage facility in Boyle Heights.

The company released the following statement on Thursday:

"Lineage's top priority is the health and safety of our employees, partners, and the communities in which we live and operate. We are deeply grateful to the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) for their rapid response, professionalism, and continued support in protecting the community.

"LAFD hazmat specialists continue to monitor air quality in the structure and immediate area. Importantly, there are no known ammonia readings from air monitoring reported at this time. We are also encouraged that our employees were safely evacuated and there are no reported injuries. We are working closely with local officials and first responder teams to assess the situation and provide support.

"This is an evolving matter, and we will provide updates as appropriate."