Emergency services are in a race against time to stop a potential biohazard fallout from a huge Los Angeles warehouse fire that’s been burning now for five days, with the building threatening to collapse.
Mayor Karen Bass said Sunday air filters and masks will be provided to Boyle Heights residents.
The City has also opened up voluntary shelters to provide relief.
The toxic fumes from the inferno saw Gavin Newsom declare a state of emergence for the fire, with the South Coast Air Quality Management District warning about the dangers of particle pollution.
“We will get through this, and we will always stand with the Boyle Heights community,” she said
Firefighters have been battling the inferno at Lineage Logistics’ 500,000-square-foot facility in Boyle Heights since Wednesday, drenching it with water that has slowly eroded the building’s structural integrity.
Inside, 85 million pounds of frozen bread and meat products have been decaying.
Meanwhile, Spencer Pratt chastised Mayor Bass Sunday for her handling of the fire that, claiming she was “sipping cocktails in Chicago” when the flames erupted.
She had been in Chicago to attend the opening of Barack Obama’s presidential library.
“I warned you all…what happened to us will happen to all of LA,” Pratt said, referring to Bass’ handling of the Palisades Fire. “That smoke choking out LA is full of lead. Don’t breathe it!”
The continuous trail of smoke that’s spread beyond Los Angeles County and into the San Gabriel Valley and northwest San Bernardino Valley –and across Dodgers Stadium.
“It’s a little dark out there, little Gotham City when I was driving up,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told the Los Angeles Times.
While the Los Angeles Fire Department said air quality testing revealed no additional toxic chemicals or hazards within the smoke, health officials encouraged residents to stay indoors and experts warned that it is hard to know for certain what is actually mixed in.
“Much like recent industrial and wildfire incidents, the makeup of the smoke can include toxic chemicals, fine particles and other serious risks to lung health depending on fire conditions and what is burned,” Will Barrett, with the American Lung Association, told the Times.
The 500,000 square-foot warehouse that continues to smolder is filled with frozen meat and poses the potential threat of a biohazard crisis — something Michael Kleinman, a toxicologist and professor, said is “really unprecedented.”
“It’ll certainly be smelly and noxious, and bacteria and things are going to be growing in it,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “Obviously not getting in contact with it is an issue, but if the stuff starts to burn, it adds this biological material to the plumes, and you’re going off into territory that really is very untested.”
The LAFD is now planning on how to remove the millions of pounds of spoiled meat, but underscored that the situation “remains a complex, long-duration incident that will require sustained operations.”
As of Sunday afternoon, fire officials said they have contained the blaze to one side of the building.
“Overnight, firefighters removed portions of the exterior wall to improve access and allow for more effective water application to areas of the fire that were otherwise inaccessible,” the LAFD said.
The location of the warehouse has also helped push the smoke across the city, due to strong winds that occur in the middle of the LA Basin.
The complex situation prompted Governor Gavin Newsom to issue a state of emergency over the weekend in order to provide Los Angeles with additional resources and assistance.
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