Fire Rages, LA Gasping — Action Comes Late

A massive warehouse fire in Los Angeles has choked neighborhoods with toxic smoke for days — and residents are asking why it took Mayor Karen Bass until day four to declare an emergency.

Story Snapshot

A cold-storage warehouse in Boyle Heights caught fire June 17, burning for days and sending toxic smoke across the LA area.
Mayor Karen Bass waited until day four — Saturday, June 20 — to declare a local emergency and request state and federal help.
The building held roughly 85 million pounds of food, mostly meat, now spoiling and creating a growing biohazard threat.
Reality TV star Spencer Pratt, who lost his home in the Palisades Fire, publicly called out Bass over her handling of the crisis.

A Fire That Refused to Die

The blaze started around 2 p.m. on Wednesday, June 17, at a 500,000-square-foot cold-storage facility operated by Lineage Logistics in the Boyle Heights neighborhood near downtown Los Angeles. Fire quickly spread across hundreds of solar panels on the building’s roof, making it far harder to fight. Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) Chief Jaime Moore called it “a very unique challenge.” Foam insulation inside the walls kept feeding the flames even after crews thought they had made progress.

Ammonia gas — a hazardous chemical used in cold-storage refrigeration — was released early in the fire. Authorities issued shelter-in-place orders, telling nearby residents to close all windows and doors, shut off air conditioning, and stay inside. Lineage Logistics later confirmed crews removed the ammonia from the site. But the fire kept burning, and thick smoke continued to drift across the region for days, worsening air quality far beyond the immediate neighborhood.

Bass Declares Emergency — On Day Four

Mayor Bass did not declare a local emergency until Saturday, June 20 — three full days after the fire started. The declaration activated the city’s Emergency Operations Organization and formally requested expedited access to state and federal disaster relief under the California Disaster Assistance Act. Bass also asked the state to temporarily waive regulations that could slow firefighting operations. She said the city’s top concern was public health and preventing a major environmental disaster from the rotting food inside the warehouse.

By the time Bass acted, the city and Los Angeles County had already opened smoke relief centers for residents who could not safely stay indoors. Officials distributed more than 350 air purifiers and 18,000 masks to affected neighborhoods. The LAFD also requested 12 additional fire engines and six more trucks to support ongoing operations. Officials said there were zero injuries to the public or firefighters — a point Bass emphasized at a Sunday press briefing. But for many residents, the damage to air quality and daily life had already been done.

Spencer Pratt Speaks Out — And He Has a Point

Spencer Pratt, who lost his home in the January 2025 Palisades Fire, publicly criticized Bass over the Boyle Heights response. Pratt has become a vocal critic of Bass since the wildfires, and this latest crisis gave him more ammunition. His frustration reflects a broader pattern. During the Palisades Fire, Bass was also criticized — she had left Los Angeles after the first weather warning was issued to attend a presidential inauguration in Ghana, returning 24 hours later as the fire destroyed thousands of homes.

Report: Washington cold storage warehouse fire caused health and environmental issues years before Boyle Heights blaze https://t.co/qVq2mz6plR

— San Gabriel Valley Tribune (@SGVTribune) June 22, 2026

The question critics keep asking is a fair one: why does it take days for a major city to activate its full emergency response? A city the size of Los Angeles — with a massive budget and a large fire department — should have plans ready to move fast. Waiting four days to formally declare an emergency, while residents breathe toxic air and 85 million pounds of food rot inside a smoldering building, is hard to defend. Bass has now fired the city’s fire chief once already over the wildfire response. Whether this latest crisis brings more accountability remains to be seen.

A Biohazard Crisis Still Unfolding

Even as firefighters work to fully extinguish the blaze, a serious cleanup challenge looms. The warehouse held roughly 85 million pounds of food — mostly meat — that is now deteriorating or charred. LAFD Chief Moore said firefighters cannot simply go in and start moving pallets because of the ongoing fire and hazardous conditions inside. Bass said the city is working to move the toxic materials out and dispose of them safely to avoid a major environmental disaster. The full scale of the biohazard risk has not yet been formally assessed.