Fire at Boyle Heights cold storage triggers shelter-in-place

A massive fire erupted at a cold storage warehouse in Boyle Heights on Wednesday afternoon, forcing firefighters to retreat from the building and prompting widespread shelter-in-place orders due to hazardous smoke and an ammonia leak. The blaze, which began shortly after 2:30 p.m. at the Lineage Logistics facility on South Los Palos Street, rapidly spread across solar panels on the roof and intensified after reports of an ammonia leak inside the structure.

The Los Angeles Fire Department deployed at least 80 personnel, including hazardous materials teams, to the scene. Crews initially took an offensive position on the roof of the 491,000-square-foot commercial building but were ordered to withdraw within an hour as the situation grew more dangerous. The department confirmed that all units were called off the roof and out of the interior, transitioning to a defensive posture. The ammonia leak triggered several small explosions, reinvigorating the flames and sending a thick plume of black smoke high into the sky, visible for miles.

Due to the heavy smoke and the presence of hazardous materials, authorities issued a shelter-in-place order for a significant area. Residents south of...