Massive warehouse fire continues to rage in LA, company says blaze began in rooftop solar array

A fire has raged at a warehouse in Los Angeles’ Boyle Heights for days, believed to have started when subcontractors were servicing a solar array on the building’s roof. Former LA mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt has accused incumbent mayor Karen Bass of "sipping cocktails in Chicago" when the fire broke out last week. 

Lineage, the company that leases and operates the massive cold-storage warehouse, said in a statement, "We believe the fire originated on the roof on Wednesday while the company’s subcontractors were servicing the solar array." The company added, "Lineage does not own the building or its rooftop solar array. We are the tenant-operator of the warehouse building and lease the roof to a third-party solar company, which is responsible for operating and maintaining the array." 

In a Sunday evening update, the Los Angeles Fire Department said its firefighters "continue to make significant progress at the Palos Incident through coordinated suppression operations and heavy equipment support." 

The LAFD said exterior wall sections had been removed to allow more effective access to interior fire areas, and that the building’s construction "continues to present operational challenges," including storage racks holding up collapsed sections of the roof. The department said exterior fires had largely been knocked down. 

https://lafd.org/alert/update-1900-hours-june-21-2026-structure-fire-06172026-inc1019

The fire began at around 2:35 pm on Wednesday at the nearly 500,000 square foot cold storage facility, inside which sits 85 million pounds of frozen food. Authorities have not yet released an official cause for the fire. When firefighters arrived at the scene, they say flames shooting from the roof and quickly began offensive suppression efforts, however, a suspected ammonia leak 15 minutes into firefighting efforts forced first responders to go on the defensive. 

The fire department said that the "sheer size of this structure" had "largely prevented effective ground access," and that the department used the uncommon method of deploying LAFD helicopters to drop water on the building. While the blaze had been largely under control within six hours, Friday’s wind conditions caused "a flare-up inside the structure."

Smoke from the blaze has been a major concern for the surrounding area. Over the weekend, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency due to the warehouse fire. 

While the air quality index for Boyle Heights appeared to improve on Monday, sitting mostly at a moderate level for particulate matter, on Sunday night, those levels were "very unhealthy," per the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

Bass on Saturday urged residents to limit their time outdoors, keep windows and doors closed, and run an air purifier. If outside, residents have been urged to limit prolonged exposure to smoke and wear a N95 or KN95 face mask. 

The LAFD said, "Although smoke conditions are trending in a positive direction, intermittent increases in smoke may occur as crews open walls and other concealed spaces to locate and extinguish hidden fire."

Meanwhile, Pratt has criticized Bass for being out of the area when the fire began, mirroring her being out of the United States when the massive Palisades and Eaton fires broke out in early 2025. 

"Karen was sipping cocktails in Chicago when the Boyle Heights Fire erupted, just as she was sipping cocktails in Ghana when our Palisades Fire erupted. I warned you all...what happened to us will happen to all of LA. That smoke choking out LA is full of lead. Don't breathe it," Pratt wrote. Bass had been in Chicago for the opening of the Obama Presidential Center, per the New York Post.