LA Mayor Bass declares emergency to secure resources to help fight
warehouse fire
[June 22, 2026]
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass declared an
emergency Saturday to ensure the city gets the resources it needs to
fight a large warehouse fire that has sent large plumes of smoke into
the air.
“The city and county have opened spaces for families seeking relief from
the smoke, and we will continue working around the clock and doing
everything possible to put this fire out completely," Bass said in a
news release announcing the emergency declaration. |
Firefighters fight a warehouse fire in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of
Los Angeles, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) |
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The fire at a privately owned cold-storage warehouse in the
city's Boyle Heights neighborhood started Wednesday, prompting
shelter-in-place orders in the area because of the risk of
hazardous air. Residents were told to close all windows, doors
and vents, turn off air conditioning and bring people and pets
to an inside room.
Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Jaime Moore said in a news
conference that they have taken care of the hazardous materials
portion of the blaze and now they are working on the biohazard
challenges.
“We have 85 million pounds of frozen food inside of this
facility and the way the building has been laid out, it’s very
difficult for us to get in there because there’s zero visibility
inside,” Moore said. “Our firefighters are not able to just go
in there and start moving pallets.”
The mayor's declaration asks for recovery help under the
California Disaster Assistance Act. She also asked the state to
expedite access to resources and other relief programs.
Bass said their chief concern is for the health and safety of
the people impacted by the fire, so they are trying to secure
the help needed to move the toxic materials away from the area
and dispose of them in a way that will avert a major
environmental disaster.
“So this is about prevention,” she said. “This is about
protecting your public health.”
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