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Bass: 45-Day Cleanup Deadline 'Too Long' for Boyle Heights Warehouse

20 July 2026 21:00

Nearly one month after a massive fire at a cold storage warehouse in Boyle Heights, residents are still grappling with a putrid stench from millions of pounds of rotting food. Mayor Karen Bass now says the 45-day cleanup deadline she imposed on Lineage is inadequate, as only a fraction of the waste has been removed.

Cleanup Progress Lags Behind Deadline

Since the June fire at the Lineage cold storage facility, the company's own tracking shows that just 4% of the total food waste had been cleared as of mid-July. The mayor's deadline of August 13 remains firm, but Bass told NBC Los Angeles, 'Frankly, 45 days is too long.' The slow pace has left hundreds of families near the warehouse suffering from a stench that at times makes it hard to breathe.

Lineage says specialized contractors are working around the clock, but the removal process is complex. Odor-control systems, including a deodorant and bleach solution, have been installed around the 250,000-square-foot section that was not destroyed. The building has also been wrapped in Tyvek to help contain the smell.

As of July 20, Lineage had removed approximately 3,520 tons or 7 million pounds of food and building debris. An estimated 3,195 tons or 6.4 million pounds of that total is food waste that has been removed from inside the building. Before the fire, the warehouse stored approximately 44,000 tons (88 million pounds) of food. To date, 56% of the damaged roof has been removed, according to L.A. County Public Works. This week, Lineage said it increased the number of trucks removing debris from the site.

It’s unclear how much food waste and debris are still left to clean up, but an aerial image of the building from Lineage shows that almost half of the building has been torn down and cleared. At Tuesday’s L.A. County Board of Supervisors meeting, Leslie Luke, deputy director for the county’s Office of Emergency Management, said Lineage is now working to tear down a concrete wall that separates “Freezer 1,” which burned in the fire, and “Freezer 2.” “… by doing so they’ll be able to get to Freezer 2 and rows of product in there. Each one of the rows is about the size of two football fields, and there are about 28 rows in that second freezer,” Luke said.

In a Saturday update, Lineage announced it had reached a 'major milestone,' clearing nearly half of the food waste from the site. The company has begun sealing the food waste in deodorized containers for transport, and will start scraping and power washing the concrete slab. The demolition and cleanup of the remaining burned structure is expected to be largely complete in the coming days. Lineage also plans to remove the wall separating the burned and unburned sections to accelerate cleanup, a process that may cause a temporary increase in odors. The process could take up to three days. “We are moving as fast and as safely as we can, and we will not stop until this community can move forward,” the company stated.

Local Impact and Health Concerns

Residents like Wilfredo Aguilar say the smell is unbearable. 'You cannot be outside,' he said. UCLA researchers have confirmed that the air contains toxins, and officials warn that a heat wave could worsen the odor. More than 1,100 people living closest to the warehouse have used vouchers to leave their homes and stay in Airbnbs.

Councilmember Ysabel Jurado has requested a corrective action plan from Lineage to address violations imposed by the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Additional resources, including Metro cards and housing credits, are available for affected residents.

Residents report that the stench has attracted giant rats and bright green flies, making conditions unbearable. Lisett Navarrete, a 34-year-old resident, said, “It’s not like little house rats. They’re giant rats. They don’t fit there.” Flies gather around food sources outside homes near the warehouse. Local businesses say customers are staying away because the smell is so sickening.

Political Pressure Mounts

California Senator Alex Padilla toured the neighborhood on Tuesday, joined by air quality experts and LAFD Chief Jaime Moore. Padilla, along with Senator Adam Schiff and Congressman Jimmy Gomez, sent a letter to the EPA urging continued monitoring of air and water quality. 'When a disaster seems to be over, the EPA tends to move on. We can't let them move on yet,' Padilla said.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton also visited Boyle Heights on Wednesday, criticizing local leaders' response to the warehouse fire cleanup. During his campaign stop, Hilton swatted away flies that had gathered around the Lineage warehouse across the street. He echoed Mayor Bass's sentiment that the 45-day deadline is too long and said he would have done more to speed up the cleanup process. Hilton acknowledged the challenges of running as a Republican in California but expressed confidence that his campaign would gain traction. In the latest Public Policy Institute of California poll, Democrat Xavier Becerra led Hilton 61% to 36%. Becerra's campaign dismissed Hilton as "Trump's puppet in California." Political analysts noted that Hilton's embrace of President Donald Trump's endorsement could be a challenge in a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by nearly 2 to 1.

Air Quality Enforcement Escalates

Southern California air quality officials have given Lineage LLC a deadline of Tuesday to present a plan to mitigate the odors of decomposing food at the company’s Boyle Heights warehouse. The move comes after residents filed more than 1,600 complaints due to “rotten, sour, garbage-type smells” since last week. The deadline, which marked an escalation in enforcement tactics, was in a demand letter from the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the agency tasked with maintaining air quality in Southern California. In a statement issued Friday, the agency said it has worked with Lineage for weeks to recommend ways for the company to lessen the spread of odors, but “the company has not yet incorporated several key actions.”

South Coast AQMD outlined more than 20 steps for Lineage to take to comply with state law on public nuisances. Among the more than two dozen demands, regulators ordered Lineage to add odor neutralizers to its dump trucks before and during the loading process, create a double layer of odor prevention around the spoiled food, implement daily cleaning plans for loading areas and streets where trucks may drive through, and install signs with South Coast AQMD's complaint line around the warehouse. The company must also apply odor neutralizer to food waste and trucks containing it, require coverings for parked trucks loaded with food waste, and notify the community of any activities that may increase odors. For its part, Lineage reports that it has been attempting to mitigate the rancid smells coming from its warehouse as it hauls away dozens of truckloads of waste. “We are using a variety of approaches to minimize the effects, including: physical barriers (StormWrapper), applying a bleach solution in and around the building, running mist deodorizing systems around the site, and applying deodorizers directly to the debris to reduce odors as much as possible during that period,” Lineage’s website reads. “It will get better as the cleanup progresses.” The demand letter sent to Lineage also notified the company that South Coast AQMD planned to start a process that could lead to the company being fined or sued.

South Coast AQMD said Tuesday that Lineage responded to its letter demanding additional odor controls at 5 p.m. A spokesperson said the agency is currently evaluating the document. South Coast AQMD has issued notices of violation to Lineage for at least nine consecutive days, starting July 12, for “discharging such quantities of air contaminants to cause injury, detriment, nuisance or annoyance to a considerable number of persons.” Though South Coast AQMD has not announced if it has levied any fines on Lineage yet, it has a formal process in place to resolve the notices of violations it has issued. Any fines would then be collected by the state. According to the South Coast AQMD, violators of state air quality regulations face a sliding scale of penalties depending on the severity. The base civil penalties range from $5,000 per day for a simple violation to $75,000 daily if a person “willfully and intentionally emits an air contaminant” in violation of state law. Those penalties could be $100,000 or more if the contaminants are found to have harmed anyone.

South Coast AQMD has not yet announced litigation against Lineage, though it mentioned the possibility of a civil suit in statements released last week. UCLA environmental health professor Yoshira Ornelas Van Horne said that criminal cases against companies responsible for air contamination are more difficult to bring to trial compared to other forms of accountability. Prosecutors “have to show that they intentionally were doing something bad, and that they knew that they were doing this, and they still kept doing it,” Ornelas Van Horne said. “So most of the time, the legal pathway is through these penalties and civil lawsuits — if at all — to bring them into compliance.”

Another ongoing question is whether the warehouse continues to be a source of air pollutants. A tracker on Lineage’s website shows that on July 15 and 17, the most recently reported days, the air quality was within EPA guidelines for all contaminants measured, including carbon monoxide and ammonia. Ornelas Van Horne, who studies the impact of pollutants on marginalized communities, said that Lineage was using benchmarks that were meant for acute exposure to contaminants, which the EPA defines as under 14 days. Since it’s now been over a month since the warehouse caught fire, she said it’s important to reevaluate how appropriate the guidelines for acute exposure are in this situation. “What they're measuring is in concentrations of what we'd call PPM,” parts per million, Ornelas Van Horne said. “But as we move toward … longer time periods, those levels actually go down to PPB [parts per billion], and so that's super important to emphasize.”

Tuesday is the deadline for Lineage Logistics to respond to regulators’ demands that the operators of the fire-ravaged Lineage Logistics cold-storage warehouse in Boyle Heights report on additional odor control measures it has been required to implement. The removal of tons of rotting food from the warehouse continues after the eight-day fire broke out more than a month ago, and air quality violations have piled up. With temperatures soaring, neighbors have been dealing with what they have described as a highly objectionable stench as rats and flies treat the rancid contents of the destroyed facility as a smorgasbord. “For weeks, South Coast AQMD has worked with Lineage to provide technical recommendations and actions designed to reduce odors generated during the removal of decomposing food waste,” the agency announced in a news release on Friday. “While Lineage has implemented some odor reducing measures, the company has not yet incorporated several key actions requested by South Coast AQMD.” Over 1,600 odor complaints were filed with SCAQMD last week and six notices of violation have been issued to the company for public nuisance violations, according to the district dispatch, which said Lineage has been directed to implement more than two dozen additional odor control measures and respond by Tuesday. “Additionally, the letter notifies South Coast AQMD’s intent to petition its Hearing Board for further legal action,” it said. Los Angeles City Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado, who represents Boyle Heights, has made it clear that current odor-control measures are not adequate to protect Boyle Heights. “The current 45-day cleanup directive cannot mean 45 days of residents being unable to breathe comfortably, open their windows or allow their children to play outside. Lineage must complete the food-waste removal safely and on time, but the company also has a responsibility to protect the surrounding community every day while that work is underway,” Jurado said in a statement. The councilwoman noted the corrective action plan would need to include written documentation of the company’s odor- and pest-control measures, and a way to determine whether those measures were working. She also requested information about the number of truckloads being removed and the amount of the facility being dismantled. More than 85 million pounds of now-rotting food had been stored and is in the process of being removed. According to SCAQMD officials, state health and safety rules “prohibit emissions that cause injury, nuisance or annoyance to a significant number of people or the public.” The notices of violation can lead to civil penalties, or potentially a lawsuit if no settlement is reached. On Friday, Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis — whose First District includes the warehouse — said more than 700 homes near the facility were canvassed to “ensure the county has a complete understanding of the impacts families are experiencing.” “I directed the Department of Public Health to deploy teams to canvass the neighborhoods most affected by the Lineage Logistics warehouse fire, in addition to the continued outreach my staff has been conducting,” according to a statement from the supervisor. “On July 15 and 16, teams visited more than 700 homes closest to the incident site to document residents’ concerns, answer questions, connect families with available resources and gather the information needed to inform public health decisions, including whether additional protective measures are warranted.” According to Solis, most residents said they want to stay in their homes during the cleanup. “Residents emphasized the need for odor elimination, site cleanup and assurance that it is safe to remain in their community,” Solis said. “For those who requested temporary relocation assistance, connections were provided to free emergency housing resources through Airbnb.org and 211 LA. Residents also requested additional air purifiers, which were made available during each visit by offering up to three units per household, as well as portable air conditioning units and assistance with increased electricity costs.” Solis noted that Lineage Logistics indicated that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power would assist Boyle Heights residents with electricity costs, “but no comparable assistance was secured for East Los Angeles.” For that reason, Solis said, she connected directly with Southern California Edison to ensure residents in the Union Pacific neighborhood of East LA have access to electric bill assistance. Residents who wish to avail themselves of such help can call 1-800-250-7339 Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Residents and small businesses needing assistance can also call 211 or visit recovery.lacounty.gov/eastla for information about available resources and services. Efforts to remove the food and other debris from the fire-damaged warehouse are continuing. The most recent figures from Lineage indicate that over 85 million pounds of food had been stored and is being removed.

Lineage submitted its plan to mitigate the rotten, sour odors plaguing residents near the company's burned warehouse in Boyle Heights for the past month. Last Friday, the South Coast Air Quality Management District mandated more than two dozen measures to reduce the foul smells after regulators received more than 900 complaints within one week. Since the fire and ensuing clean-up effort, AQMD has issued six notices of violation to Lineage. "While Lineage has implemented some odor-reducing measures, the company has not yet incorporated several key actions requested by South Coast AQMD," regulators wrote in a statement last Friday. "South Coast AQMD has identified additional measures that are needed to minimize odor impacts to the community." Regulators said they received the plan at 5 p.m. on Tuesday and were reviewing it. CBS Los Angeles asked about details on the proposal, but AQMD declined to share any. "We are currently engaged in discussions with the facility and will share any information that can be made public when appropriate," AQMD said. Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, who represents the area, urged regulators "to use every authority available to require immediate, measurable corrective action from Lineage." "Boyle Heights residents should not have to submit hundreds more complaints before someone acts," Jurado said in a statement. "They should not be expected to tolerate conditions that would never be accepted in wealthier communities." Jurado further stated, "It has been more than 30 days since this disaster began. Lineage has had ample time to address these impacts, and the community has waited long enough. I want clear directives, enforceable deadlines, independent verification, and consequences if the violations continue." Among the more than two dozen demands outlined by South Coast AQMD last week, regulators ordered Lineage to add odor neutralizers to its dump trucks before and during the loading process, create a double layer of odor prevention around the spoiled food and implement daily cleaning plans for loading areas and streets where trucks may drive through. The company must also install signs with South Coast AQMD's complaint line around the warehouse. Crews began transporting the rotting food on June 28, a day before Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass set a 45-day timeline to remove all of the biohazardous waste. To do so, Lineage would need to transport roughly 1,888,889 pounds per day. As of July 20, Lineage has removed 3,012,000 pounds or less than 4% of the rotting food, according to its cleanup tracker. "It has been more than 30 days since this disaster began," Lineage has had ample time to address these impacts, and the community has waited long enough. I want clear directives, enforceable deadlines, independent verification, and consequences if the violations continue. Since the fire in June, Lineage has donated roughly $2.5 million worth of air purifiers, housing vouchers, masks, meals and other cash assistance to surrounding residents. However, the ongoing odors have frustrated residents, who displayed their anger during a town hall last week. After storming into the meeting with megaphones and signs, irate residents demanded more action from Lineage and city leaders. "I understand the uncertainty, the frustration and the disruption that it's caused," Lineage COO Jeff Rivera said as the crowd jeered at him. "I am sorry. I am sorry for the disruption that this has caused. I'm here tonight because I know that there are [questions] you want answered. I'm working on answering those questions directly."

Residents continue to report strong odors emanating from the warehouse. On Friday, July 17, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) issued a formal demand letter requiring Lineage to strengthen its Odor Management Plan after receiving over 900 odor complaints. This week, Lineage responded to the letter and said: They have implemented misting systems to mitigate odor around the building. Food waste is being sprayed down with odor control, bleach and water. Food waste from Building 2 will be sprayed down with a Posi-Lock odor containment system, but the contents of Building 1 are too wet to do so. They have wrapped the entire building in plastic sheeting and will repair or replace any that becomes damaged or worn within 72 hours. They are unable to wrap the food being removed from Building 1, as it would add months to the cleanup process. The full response from Lineage is available here. To report the odor call 1-800-CUT-SMOG, file a report online at aqmd.gov/complaints or download the free South Coast AQMD mobile app to submit complaints from your phone.

Pest Control and Public Health Response

Boyle Heights residents continue to battle flies, rodents and the stench from rotting food weeks after the Lineage warehouse fire. Mayor Karen Bass is pressing the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to move faster, while the county says it is overseeing code enforcement and Lineage's pest-management efforts. In a letter to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Bass expressed concern with the pace at which the department is addressing the disaster, noting that the city does not have its own public health department and relies on the county to help protect residents "in times of environmental disasters, like what continues to unfold in Boyle Heights due to the millions of pounds of rotting food inside the Lineage warehouse." The LA County Department of Public Health says its Environmental Health Division responds to complaints about rodents, flies, and other vermin, and inspects properties to identify conditions that allow them to live or breed. County Code requires property owners to keep buildings and outdoor areas free of conditions that let rodents or other vermin nest or breed. When inspectors identify conditions that support pest infestations, they issue a written notice to the responsible party explaining the specific code violation and corrective actions required. Environmental Health does not provide pest control services or remove pests from properties.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health cited Lineage on Friday for rodent and pest control violations, marking the second citation from a government agency. The South Coast AQMD had previously issued violations for odors. Lineage says it has expanded its pest-control efforts with support from Orkin to help reduce fly and rodent activity around the site. Steps currently in place include: daily fly-control treatments, daily inspections of the property perimeter for signs of rodent activity, rodent-control devices installed around the site in strategic locations, up to 248 exterior fly-control devices including bait stations and fly traps, targeted fly treatments around dumpsters, loading areas, drainage areas, fence lines and other locations where flies are most active, ongoing monitoring to track pest activity and adjust control measures as needed, and sanitation and cleanup efforts to remove materials that can attract pests. In response to feedback from families, Lineage has distributed approximately 350 fly traps to community members and will be providing a further 800 additional traps through its ongoing neighborhood outreach efforts over the next week.

Background

The fire at the Lineage warehouse in June destroyed part of the facility, leaving millions of pounds of food to rot. The stench has affected not only Boyle Heights but also parts of East Los Angeles when winds shift. This incident has highlighted the vulnerability of industrial-adjacent communities in the Los Angeles area.

While Lineage Logistics has been the public face of the cleanup, it does not own the warehouse. The building is owned by Chill Build Los Angeles I LLC, one of several entities associated with Indianapolis-area developer Gary Edwards. In its first statement since the fire, Chill Build confirmed it has met with regulators, spent millions on the response, and believes responsibility for repair and recovery efforts rests with Lineage. “Lineage Logistics is the lessee of the entire property. They are responsible for all aspects of maintaining and repairing the facility. Lineage Logistics is in charge of the recovery efforts, communicating with residents, and reporting progress directly to city and county regulators.” Lineage did not respond to questions before publication about its relationship with Chill Build, the division of responsibilities between companies involved or whether it coordinated public communications with the property owner. Chill Build was on scene within the first 16 hours of the fire. Records show senior city inspectors from the L.A. Department of Building and Safety met with Edwards on June 24, notifying him that the city would order removal of all fire-damaged portions and require permits before reconstruction. A follow-up visit on July 1 resulted in a second order requiring Chill Build to submit a full remediation and monitoring plan with weekly progress reports. Chill Build confirmed it met with the Los Angeles Fire Department multiple times from June 18 to July 6 and provided $6.2 million in funding to retain specialty contractors, equipment, and resources to help extinguish the fire. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health has opened three additional inspections tied to the fire, including one involving Chill Build. Chill Build purchased the property in March 2017 for $43 million and developed it into the roughly 500,000-square-foot cold-storage facility. At least 10 permits name Victory Unlimited Construction LLC, another company owned by Edwards, as the contractor. One permit lists Chill Build as owner and applicant for the rooftop solar array, the same system linked to fires in both 2024 and again in June. A review of corporate filings shows Edwards listed as manager, member, agent, or governor of at least a dozen companies operating under the Chill Build name across multiple states. Chill Build Los Angeles did not comment further on Edwards’ relationship with the Chill Build entities. Chill Build Los Angeles has been named as a defendant in at least two lawsuits filed over the fire, alongside Lineage, Altus Power, and Pearce Services. The company donated $2 million to Baby2Baby’s Disaster Relief & Emergency Response Program on June 24, providing air purifiers, diapers, formula, wipes, children’s N95 masks, food, and hygiene products to support impacted families. However, Councilmember Ysabel Jurado said the property owner should take a more public role, noting her office has not had direct conversations with representatives from Chill Build.

Lineage has publicly stated that it believes the fire started on the roof when a contractor of the solar array owner, Altus Power, was testing the array. Altus Power responded by saying that "multiple parties joined in asking Lineage to appropriately preserve and not destroy relevant evidence during its site remediations," and accused Lineage of "pointing fingers rather than getting this community the swift clean-up and answers it deserves."

Conclusion

As the cleanup drags on, residents continue to demand faster action. Mayor Bass is pressing Lineage and seeking help from county health officials. The community remains on edge, hoping for relief from the lingering odor and health risks.

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Boyle HeightsEast Los Angeleswarehouse firecleanuphealth hazard
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