LOS ANGELES, CA – Lineage says cleanup at its fire-damaged Boyle Heights warehouse has entered its final phase as crews continue removing residual food waste, disinfecting the site and addressing odors more than two months after the June 17 fire.
The company says hundreds of workers remain on site around the clock at the Los Palos Street facility, where the fire left tens of millions of pounds of frozen and refrigerated food exposed to heat, smoke and structural damage.
According to Lineage’s Boyle Heights response and recovery page, crews have logged more than 100,000 work hours, deployed more than 500 pieces of equipment and removed more than 4,000 truckloads of debris. Lineage says cleanup costs are now expected to exceed $100 million.
The company has described the remaining work as particularly difficult because loose food remains lodged throughout a six-story rack system spanning the equivalent of roughly 40 miles of shelving.
Unlike intact pallets and boxes removed earlier in the cleanup, the remaining product is located in areas where heavy equipment cannot easily reach.
Workers in protective gear have been climbing into the rack system and manually pushing debris down so crews at ground level can remove it, Lineage said.
The dispute over exactly when food removal was required to be completed has become another point of tension between the company, regulators and local officials.
Lineage has maintained that the 45-day cleanup clock began July 7, when the Los Angeles Fire Department ended its continuous fire watch and the company says it regained full access to begin removal work.
In an Aug. 13 update, Lineage said it was targeting Aug. 20 for completion of bulk food removal, with spot cleaning, disinfecting and detailing continuing through Aug. 27.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District has imposed a separate Order for Abatement containing more than 90 conditions intended to reduce odors, accelerate cleanup and protect surrounding residents.
The order followed thousands of complaints from Boyle Heights residents about strong odors emanating from the fire-damaged warehouse.
South Coast AQMD has continued issuing public-nuisance violations tied to odors from the site.
Its public record shows violations dating from July 12 through at least Aug. 20 under Rule 402 and California Health and Safety Code Section 41700, which prohibit emissions that cause injury, nuisance or annoyance to a significant number of people.
By early August, South Coast AQMD said it had received nearly 4,000 odor complaints associated with the warehouse and had imposed additional requirements on Lineage through the Hearing Board process.
Those requirements include continued fenceline air monitoring, bilingual community communication and expanded odor-control measures.
Lineage says its crews are simultaneously power washing, disinfecting, deodorizing and clearing residual debris as food removal nears completion.
The company has said progress depends not only on manpower but also on structural conditions inside the warehouse and the ability to keep workers safe.
Lineage reported that an average of about 400 workers per day had been deployed during the cleanup.
The company has also installed misting stations, carbon filtration equipment, odor-neutralizing systems and pest-control devices around the property.
Those measures were expanded after residents reported persistent smells, flies and other problems associated with decomposing food.
The cleanup has remained under close scrutiny from Council District 14.
Councilmember Ysabel Jurado has repeatedly pressed Lineage and regulators to accelerate the work and impose consequences when deadlines are missed.
In an Aug. 13 statement, Jurado said Lineage had reported removing approximately 93% of bulk food waste but warned that substantial progress did not erase the city’s cleanup deadline.
Her office has also supported a broader package of measures aimed at addressing environmental and public-health effects in Boyle Heights, including expanded sanitation services, housing-related protections and additional neighborhood assistance.
At the same time, the Los Angeles City Council has continued the local emergency declaration tied to the warehouse fire.
The declaration was originally initiated by the mayor in June and allows the city to coordinate emergency resources and response measures connected with the fire and its aftermath. The official City Clerk file for the Boyle Heights emergency tracks the city’s continuing actions.
Councilmembers are also addressing complaints from residents whose vehicles were ticketed or towed during and after the emergency response.
Some residents have said they were instructed to remain inside or told not to move vehicles during portions of the fire response, only to later discover that those vehicles had been cited or impounded.
City officials have asked the Los Angeles Fire Department and Los Angeles Police Department to account for towing operations associated with the emergency.
Councilmember Jurado has also sought a process through LAPD and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation that could allow parking-related citations to be canceled when residents were affected by emergency restrictions or stay-at-home instructions.
The city has not yet announced a final relief process covering every affected vehicle owner.
Separate transportation-related measures tied to the fire have continued advancing through City Hall.
On Aug. 19, the City Council approved an item directing transportation assistance connected with the Boyle Heights fire response, according to a City Clerk record.
The warehouse cleanup has become one of the most closely watched environmental recovery operations in Los Angeles this summer.
The fire began June 17 and burned through a massive cold-storage facility containing approximately 88 million pounds of food, according to Lineage.
After the flames were controlled, residents faced weeks of smoke, decomposing food, odor complaints, pests and heavy cleanup traffic.
South Coast AQMD has maintained a dedicated Palos Fire response page publishing enforcement information, air-monitoring resources and updates on the abatement order.
The agency is also scheduled to hold a special East Los Angeles/Boyle Heights/West Commerce community meeting on Aug. 27 focused on air-quality conditions and the Lineage fire recovery.
Lineage says it will continue providing updates to city officials, regulators and the community until the cleanup is complete.
The company maintains that it has committed every available resource to the operation and says the remaining work cannot be rushed without creating additional safety risks.
Residents and local officials, however, continue to press for the remaining food waste to be removed as quickly as possible and for odor, pest and public-health impacts to end.
The cleanup remains ongoing.
