Los Angeles Warehouse Fire Tests Response by California Officials

After relentless criticism for their handling of the Palisades Fire in early 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass are sounding all the alarms in the wake of a new fire now burning at a cold storage facility in Los Angeles County. Early Sunday, the governor declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles County while Ms. Bass declared a local emergency on Saturday.The fire at a cold-storage warehouse housing food products like meat and fish began Wednesday. A testing crew by a solar power company on the leased roof space alerted the owner, Lineage Logistics, of the 491,000‑square‑foot building of the rapid spread of the fire. Smoke billowing from the Boyle Heights neighborhood into the air above America’s third-largest city contains pollutants from the foam insulation and ammonia used in the refrigerant of the giant cooler-like complex. The state will be “deploying specialized resources, supporting local firefighters, and pre-positioning critical supplies to protect communities and accelerate recovery,” Mr. Newsom said in his declaration. Ms. Bass urged Angelenos to limit their time outdoors, to wear masks if they do decide to go outside, and to seek medical attention if they began experiencing respiratory problems. On Sunday the South Coast Air Quality Management District extended its particle pollutant advisory until Monday afternoon.“Out of an abundance of caution, please take steps to protect yourself and your family,” Ms. Bass posted on Saturday, urging.With the fire persisting days after it began, several local residents have been sharing photos and video of the smoke above Los Angeles. One editor for the California Post, Ben Bolch, called it an “acrid, nasty haze” enshrouding Dodger Stadium, located a few miles from the warehouse.“Not sure I’d want to sit here and watch as a fan, much less play the game, unless conditions improve,” he posted on X alongside a video of workers preparing the field. The Air Quality Index currently shows a significant spike in particulate matter in the air, which can lead to difficulty breathing for some people. “Live look at Los Angeles as some of the worst air quality in years suffocates the metropolis during the World Cup, all from a single 10 acre warehouse fire in Boyle Heights,” wrote a climate activist, Edgar McGregor, sharing images from UC-San Diego’s Alert California public safety program, which monitors for fire outbreaks and other natural disasters. “There is no wind. There is no atmospheric mixing. The smoke is just sitting here.”Though the fire in Boyle Heights has not led to any deaths, unlike the Palisades Fire which killed 12 and let to the destruction of thousands of homes, Mr. Newsom and Ms. Bass are under pressure to ensure the fire is defeated swiftly. Last month, Ms. Bass became the first incumbent in decades to be forced into a runoff election thanks, in part, to the inclusion of a former reality TV star, Spencer Pratt, on the ballot. Mr. Pratt, who made Ms. Bass’s response to the Palisades Fire, which burnt down his and his parents’ homes a primary issue in the campaign, took more than one-quarter of the vote. He fell just short of advancing to the runoff behind progressive city councilwoman Nithya Raman after post-Election Day counting of mail-in ballots. Mr. Pratt blames the city for the lengthy permitting process that has prevented him and thousands of others from being able to rebuild their homes more than 17 months after the fire. Just 883 homes have been permitted for construction after more than 13,000 homes and other buildings burned to the ground.Mr. Newsom, a potential 2028 presidential contender who, with his wife and former chief-of-staff, is facing a cascade of investigations by the Trump administration, is also under fire to get the emergency response right amid higher political ambitions. Mr. Newsom reportedly said Friday that he will release his tax returns between 2021 and 2025 after questions were raised over how his earnings are covering his large number of expenses.“Gavin Newsom and his “press office” aides-gone-wild have been trying to mock President Donald Trump on social media for more than a year — regardless of the consequences for state-federal relations,” wrote a Republican candidate for the California State Senate District 22 seat, Mike Netter. “But he can’t laugh off the US Department of Justice probe into his family’s finances. And while Newsom claims the investigation is politically motivated, he knows it is serious.”

Los Angeles Warehouse Fire Tests Response by California Officials

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