Massive cleanup begins after Boyle Heights warehouse fire officially knocked down

A warehouse fire that's choked Southern California with smoke for one week could finally be nearing its end.

Crews say they hope to have the stubborn fire fully extinguished by the end of the week. Once that happens, a massive cleanup effort will begin.

The layout of the sprawling cold storage facility has made it a challenging firefight, as well as the large amounts of foam insulation that lined the structure, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.

"Cold storage facilities like this have historically been among the most challenging fires to fight," the LAFD said.

Boyle Heights residents say ongoing smoke and poor air quality are affecting their health and daily lives as the warehouse fire continues to burn.

Fire crews expect to extinguish the fire this week. But neighbors say they remain concerned about the fire's impact on their health.

Boyle Heights residents say ongoing smoke and poor air quality are affecting their health and daily lives as the warehouse fire continues to burn.

Rosa Vasquez said the conditions have forced her family to stay indoors.

"Your eyes get irritated. Your throat gets itchy. You cough and there's dust everywhere, ash everywhere," Vasquez said.

Vasquez added, "We're staying indoors. We just leave to run errands really quick and just go back."

Since last week, Vasquez said the smoke and poor air quality have disrupted life for her family, including her elderly mother who lives with them.

"We can't do anything. We can't go outside with her. We can't do much because it's hard," she said.

Javon Cameron said the smoke has affected his sinuses.

"It smells like barbecue but it don't really smell like barbecue. You can tell something is burning," Cameron said.

Aubrey Leyva said the situation has been frightening.

"We live right by the fire so it's very scary... We close the doors, we close the windows," Leyva said.

A fire that broke out a week ago at a cold storage facility in Boyle Heights continues to to burn. Even after peeling the siding off multiple sides of the Lineage building over the last two days, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass says they still have not reached the core of the fire.

A fire that broke out a week ago at a cold storage facility in Boyle Heights continues to to burn. Even after peeling the siding off multiple sides of the Lineage building over the last two days, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass says they still have not reached the core of the fire.

"They're almost there. They believe that they should be able to get to the core in the next few days. They needed specialized equipment in order to do that. The equipment came late -- it actually came yesterday morning -- it came from Texas. It actually needed to be assembled. And so they didn't put these water canons, special water cannons that we actually didn't have in the city of Los Angeles, and so they assembled it. They started using water cannons last night," said Bass.

As residents are forced to wait several more days, they continue to suffer.

"It's crazy with the air smell and then I have kids too. A little scary," said East L.A. resident Karmen Amar.

Amar is 8 months pregnant with her third child and has been dealing with the smoke from this fire for a week.

"It's not good for anybody. My grandparents live close by, two blocks from the fire, so they evacuated two days ago... It just keeps going. It's not good for me to breathe in," Amar said.

She joined other affected residents at an air filter distribution Tuesday afternoon at Our Lady of Victory Church in East L.A.

In addition to providing a thousand air purifiers, L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis' Office partnered with Via Care to provide health screenings.

"Respiratory issues, so we are doing some nebulizer treatments. We're also seeing a lot of headaches, irritation of the eyes, the ears, especially the throat," said Via Care Chief of Operations Lourdes Olivares.

As residents continue dealing with the effects of the fire, including displacement, Bass says she plans to be proactive in preventing another incident like this one, or even worse.

"I do want to look at now the warehouses throughout the city to see whether or not there's toxic materials there and another disaster waiting to happen," Bass said.

It's been nearly a week since a massive warehouse fire left many across Los Angeles with questions about the fire's impacts.

As firefighters battle flare-ups at the Lineage cold storage facility in Boyle Heights, ABC7 is getting you answers to your concerns.

[b][url HREF="https://abc7.com/post/submit-question-ask-abc7/12113275/" TARGET="" REL=""]Submit your question to Ask ABC7 here[/url][/b]

Q: How can I check the air quality in my community?
- Roberta C., Shadow Hills, andConnie Y., Ontario

ABC7: Tuesday, 7 on Your Side's Kevin Ozebek showed viewers how to check the air quality in your area.

Click here for the AirNow Fire and Smoke Map website, then maneuver to your neighborhood and click on the sensor for air quality readings in your area.

Q: Would foam used in airplane fires be a better option for extinguishing the Lineage fire? If so, why aren't they using it? - Robert G., Long Beach, andJames B., Fontana

ABC7: According to LAFD, the foam used at the airport is designed for flammable liquid fires. In this case, that is not the situation.

The challenge is not about smothering the fire, but rather getting water approximately 350 feet into the structure.

Firefighters are also facing additional difficulties due to interior racks that are not removable and extend the full height of the building.

At this time, the cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

See more answers to your questions here.