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.
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The stubborn warehouse fire in Boyle Heights that burned for a week is finally out. But a colossal cleanup now lies ahead.
Environmental teams are working to collect debris and test water runoff before it slips into storms drains.
Crews will also have to remove food, which is likely wet and spoiled, that was that being stored in the massive cold storage facility.
Eyewitness News has learned Cal/OSHA is opening an investigation into the Boyle Heights warehouse fire.
While authorities say flames are no longer active, crews continue working at the site as attention shifts to cleanup and environmental mitigation efforts around the warehouse.
"There is no active heat in anywhere in the perimeter of the fire, there are no active flames and there is no significant amount of smoke," Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Jacob Raabe said.
Some residents expressed concern that the end of the active fire does not mark the end of its potential effects.
"I don't think it's over at all... Even if it's light smoke, it's still smoke," said Phoebe Horta, who lives near the warehouse.
"Hopefully, it doesn't catch up to us in the long run," Horta added.
Environmental teams are on the ground trying to filter and test hundreds of thousands of gallons of fire-water runoff, collecting debris at the source before it reaches storm drains.
As smoke from the Lineage Logistics warehouse fire lingers in East Los Angeles, some Boyle Heights residents say they have struggled to obtain free air purifiers distributed by the city.
While the Los Angeles Fire Department said the fire was fully knocked down on Wednesday evening, officials said smoke may remain visible as firefighters continue to access and extinguish "deep-seated hot spots."
Patricia Rubio, a longtime Boyle Heights resident who lives near the warehouse, said she spent days calling several numbers, trying to reach city offices for assistance without success. That's when she turned to ABC7 On Your Side.
"I tried. I called the council person's office and got no answer. Then nothing except that the mailbox was full," Patricia Rubio said.
Inside her home, windows were shut and air conditioning units remained off as smoke lingered outside. Like many in the area, she said the need for an air purifier is urgent.
Patricia Rubio is confined to her bed, while her son is in remission after battling cancer.
Despite her frustration, Patricia Rubio said she understands that the need is great and believes other residents may need the purifiers more.
"The air purifier just, you know, the masks doesn't bother me... but it's just, I guess it's just the lack of response when I call for it," she said.
Her son, Victor Rubio, said the uncertainty about the air quality has been alarming.
"It's very scary to me because I don't, again, I don't know what kind of chemicals are in the air. And I'm not trying to get cancer for a third time because of, again, chemicals that have been here in Boyle Heights, not just from the fire, but from other facilities that have gone around here," Victor Rubio said.
Adding to the frustration is the dividing line between Boyle Heights and neighboring East Los Angeles. While both communities are near the fire, the aid comes from different governing agencies. Like in the Rubio family's case, many people feel overlooked.
Eyewitness News reached out to the offices of Councilmember Ysabel Jurado and Mayor Karen Bass. The mayor's office told us it delivered an air purifier to the Rubio home on Wednesday morning and thanked ABC7 for flagging the situation.
Still, Patricia Rubio and her family voiced another widespread concern -- not just about the immediate needs for the community's health and safety, but the long-term.
'We need somebody to be accountable for actually what's going on. We need to know what chemicals were burning that are in the air. Are they still in the air? How long are they going to be in the air?" Victor Rubio said.
"They've come through. It's been great, and I very much appreciate the air purifier, because it helps," Patricia Rubio said.
For many Boyle Heights and East L.A. residents, the threat and reality of environmental contamination is not new. From a recent oil spill to contamination from the former Exide Technologies battery recycling plant nearby, concerns are ongoing.
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.
