BOYLE HEIGHTS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Lineage cold-storage warehouse fire in Boyle Heights that burned for more than a week has been officially declared knocked down, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The inferno began shortly before 2:30 p.m. on June 17 at the facility located in the 1400 block of South Los Palos Street. A knockdown was declared just before 6 p.m. on June 24.
The fire is believed to have started while Altus Power contractors were conducting testing on a rooftop solar array, Lineage said to Eyewitness News in a statement. Altus Power responded, disputing that conclusion.
LAFD initially said it expected to extinguish the fire by midweek, and they're aiming to return the building back over to its owner by Friday.
Air quality concerns persist for large swaths of Los Angeles, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and South Coast Air Quality Management District have not detected anything beyond normal combustible material typical after a fire, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman said.
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency June 20 for Los Angeles County in response to the firefight, directing state agencies to support local response efforts and help protect public health and safety. That came after Mayor Karen Bass issued a local emergency declaration to mobilize additional resources to the city for the days ahead.
The Los Angeles Fire Department described the massive blaze as a "very complex" fire with numerous hazards for firefighters.
No injuries have been reported.
City News Service contributed to this report.
Este blog se ofrece en Español, aquí.
The warehouse fire in Boyle Heights that burned for more than a week has been officially declared knocked down, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The department said the knockdown was declared just before 6 p.m. An LAFD spokesperson said that doesn't mean it won't continue to smoke, but the fire is considered knocked down.
The fire started last Wednesday.
A week after a massive fire first ignited at the Lineage cold-storage warehouse in Boyle Heights, firefighters are close to having it fully knocked down.
Eyewitness News spotted several water drops at the site on Wednesday.
Wednesday marked one full week that the Lineage cold-storage warehouse has been burning, and finally, the fire is expected to be extinguished by midnight.
"The goal, from our fire chief himself, would like us to have a knockdown on this fire by tonight at midnight, however, safety is our No. 1 priority, so we're managing that," said Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Milo Cope.
What started as solar panels igniting on the roof turned into a full-blown catastrophe, paralyzing parts of Boyle Heights and East L.A. as smoke inundated the region day and night.
"They want the fire to be out. They've been waiting, and it's the seventh day of this fire," said Kimberly Ortega, the communications director for L.A. County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis.
There are signs that the operation is set to transition from firefight to cleanup. With the fire 90% contained and fire engines leaving the scene, environmental cleanup crews were spotted arriving on Wednesday, set to move in as soon as the flames are fully extinguished.
Over the weekend, a Chinook helicopter was spotted performing water drops on the center of the building, even as the corner of the roof had reignited and was burning out of control. LAFD revealed crews were trying to intentionally collapse the roof, or at least punch a hole in it to gain access to the fire inside.
"We were even dropping 3,000 gallons at a time with the Chinook helicopter to try and blow that roof out," Cope said. "We weren't very successful with that, but it did put a few small holes in that roof. Now, these helicopters are finding heat directly below one of those holes, so we're using them to drop about 480 gallons of water at a time through that hole, and hopefully hit the fire itself down there."
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.
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.
