Cause of Boyle Heights warehouse fire believed to be testing conducted by solar contractors: Lineage

The Los Angeles fire chief says his goal is to extinguish the large warehouse fire impacting air quality in East Los Angeles by midweek.

The Los Angeles fire chief says his goal is to extinguish the large warehouse fire impacting air quality in East Los Angeles by midweek.

LAFD Chief Jaime Moore, Mayor Karen Bass and other city officials provided an update on the Boyle Heights firefight, which has now entered its sixth day, at a press conference on Monday afternoon.

Moore says crews from around the region have responded to the warehouse fire thanks to the state of emergency declaration made over the weekend. Now that the response is larger, LAFD crews have been able to respond to their regular calls across the rest of the city.

Approximately 12,000 gallons of water per minute are being deployed on the fire, using things like high-powered water cannons, according to Moore. Crews have also been ripping the siding off the building to get better access.

Moore said his goal is to get the fire fully extinguished by midweek and turn the warehouse back over to its owner by Friday.

"This fire has improved significantly in the last two days. The more water we put on this fire, the less smoke we're going to get. Our goal is to be able to pull back those skins, pull back that roofing material, and get water to penetrate," Moore said. "Middle of this week, we will have this fire fully extinguished, and my goal... is to be able to turn this building back to the Lineage and to the building owner by Friday."

"This crisis is not over. Families are still dealing with the smoke, odor, ash, closed parks and community spaces, disrupted routines and serious concerns about what they are breathing. And people are tired. They are anxious, and they deserve answers," Councilmember Ysabel Jurado said. "While the emergency response continues, we cannot lose sight of what residents are experiencing on the ground."

The city said, so far, it has distributed roughly 23,000 masks and more than 500 air purifiers, and more are still available. Supplies were being distributed at the Boyle Heights City Hall Annex.

Residents are encouraged to stay inside their homes, especially if they are immunocompromised.

As a large warehouse fire continues to burn in Boyle Heights, local officials are distributing free air purifiers and masks for impacted residents.

As a large warehouse fire continues to burn in Boyle Heights, local officials are distributing free air purifiers and masks for impacted residents.

Video from Monday afternoon showed a long line of people-- wrapping around the parking lot and down the street -- at Our Lady of Victory Church on Herbert Avenue, where community members were lining up to receive free air purifiers and face masks.

Video from AIR7 and the ground in East Los Angeles shows thick smoke continuing to pour from the roof of the warehouse on South Los Palos Street. The smoke has traveled throughout Los Angeles County, raising concerns about air quality.

In an update on Monday afternoon, as the firefight enters its sixth day, Los Angeles Fire Chief Jaime Moore said crews are aggressively knocking down walls and using water canons to target the center of the fire. Firefighters are still not entering the warehouse until they can determine the status of the structural integrity of the roof.

"We will continue to make progress. Smoke conditions in the surrounding areas have improved significantly. We expect that trend to continue as we advance forward," Moore said. "I want to address the smoke in the air directly. If you are sensitive to smoke or have any respiratory concerns, please stay indoors."

The company that operates the site, Lineage, said it believes the fire started while contractors were conducting testing on a rooftop solar array. Still, LAFD said it is too early to determine an exact cause.

At a press conference on Monday afternoon, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said there are thousands of air purifiers and masks available to pass out. She said over 1,000 air purifiers were received from the L.A. Regional Food Bank, the Salvation Army and even some purifiers that were purchased by the mayor's office from Costco. Meanwhile, Bass said thousands of face masks were donated by Daniel Fontoura, the president of Adventist Health White Memorial Hospital.

In addition to the church, residents were also seen lining up for free supplies at the Boyle Heights City Hall Annex.

"We are also distributing food donated from the L.A. County Federation of Labor. From the start, the chief and I assured every possible resource would be put on this fire. While it still burns, the progress is remarkable, and that is a testament to the bravery and expertise of LAFD," Bass said.

Two voluntary shelters have also been opened for residents at the Pecan Recreation Center and City Terrace Park.

Bass said residents can call 311 to get more information about where to pick up masks and air purifiers. Residents can also find more details at cd14.lacity.gov.

A South Coast AQMD particulate pollution advisory remains in effect for the area through 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

A fire at a temperature-controlled storage facility is believed to have started while contractors were conducting testing on a rooftop solar array, the company that operates the site said to Eyewitness News in a statement.

Lineage, the tenant-operator of the building, said they believe the incident began during testing carried out by contractors working for the third-party owner of the solar installation located on the facility's roof.

Lineage believes the fire started while contractors were conducting testing on a rooftop solar array, the company said to Eyewitness News.

The company said that its "top priority is the health and safety of the community" and that it is continuing to coordinate with the Los Angeles Fire Department and other agencies.

"We are grateful to Los Angeles' remarkable firefighters for their ongoing and brave efforts," the company said in a statement.

The facility is primarily used to store frozen food before it is distributed to communities across the greater Los Angeles area and beyond. The company said the building is not used for the storage of hazardous materials.

Officials have not detected dangerous levels of ammonia in the surrounding community, according to Lineage.

"Our understanding from LAFD and AQMD is that there have been no measurable ammonia concentrations recorded in the community since the fire started," the company said.

Lineage added that it has taken precautionary measures to remove ammonia from the site entirely. "Additionally, Lineage has proactively taken additional steps to pump out the ammonia and transport it offsite, removing the possibility of ammonia posing a risk to the community," the statement said.

The company said no employees at the site were injured in the incident.

Lineage said it remains focused on supporting emergency response efforts and ensuring the safety of the surrounding community as the situation continues to be addressed.

LAFD said the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Crews on Monday continued to make progress on the warehouse fire that's been burning for six days.

The Los Angeles Fire Department says one of the tactics it is using in the firefight is disassembling the sides of the building to get to the center where hot spots and flames are still active.

Crews are using drones and infrared technology to detect those problem areas before attempting to extinguish them.

Crews on Monday continued to make progress on the warehouse fire that's been burning for six days. Here's where the firefight stands.

Smoke conditions have improved, but increases in smoke may happen as crews open walls and other concealed places to locate and extinguish those hidden fires.

"We're seeing a lighter colored smoke now. That means that more ordinary combustibles are burning - cardboard, food products, etc. It's not the actual structure," said LAFD spokesperson Jacob Raabe. "You see that dark, black smoke, that's when the solar panels, when the petroleum products were burning. It's very dark, thick, black smoke. We're hoping not to see a trend that way as far as the smoke."