City Warns of Smoke, Poor Air Quality as Boyle Heights Warehouse Fire Smolders Into Sunday

The City of Pasadena urged residents with pre-existing medical conditions to stay indoors over the weekend as smoke from a stubborn warehouse fire in Boyle Heights drifted across the city and the San Gabriel Valley, leaving air quality poor into Sunday.

In a statement issued Saturday, the city said smoke and the odor of smoke may be noticeable in the Pasadena area but that “there is no immediate danger to our community.” It advised individuals with pre-existing medical conditions to remain indoors, keep windows and doors closed and run an air purifier if available, and pointed residents to current readings at AirNow.gov.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District’s particle pollution advisory was in effect through 12:30 p.m. Sunday and covered the San Gabriel Valley, including Pasadena, San Gabriel and Pomona. Fine-particle levels had ranged from “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” to “Very Unhealthy” on the Air Quality Index across central Los Angeles County, the San Gabriel Valley, the eastern San Fernando Valley and the northwest San Bernardino Valley, the district said.

The smoke has been drifting in from a Lineage Logistics cold-storage warehouse in the 1400 block of South Los Palos Street in Boyle Heights, southwest of Pasadena, that has been burning and smoldering since it broke out around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, when solar panels on the roof ignited, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. No injuries have been reported.

The fire reignited Friday evening amid a wind shift, and by Saturday night both Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom had declared emergencies to direct resources to the response. An estimated 85 million pounds of frozen food remain inside the warehouse, where crews face zero visibility and unstable conditions.

Fire officials have said air monitoring has turned up nothing more hazardous than ordinary structure-fire smoke. “The good news is, all of our air monitoring … has shown that there are no additional toxic chemicals or hazards within that smoke other than normal structure fire smoke,” Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Branden Silverman said, adding, “no smoke is good smoke.” Fire officials and Lineage Logistics, which operates the warehouse, have said there have been no known ammonia readings from air monitoring, though an ammonia leak occurred during the initial Wednesday blaze.

Health officials advised anyone who sees or smells smoke to stay indoors with windows and doors closed, run air conditioning or an air purifier, and avoid swamp coolers and whole-house fans, which can pull polluted air inside. The City of Pasadena said it “will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates should conditions change.”