The aftermath of the massive warehouse fire in Boyle Heights has become a daily burden for neighbors with persisting foul odors and smoke. To understand what the community has been enduring for two weeks, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Wednesday got a closer look into the building and its premise.

NBC Los Angeles exclusively accompanied the mayor as she toured the facility although she could not step inside the burned building out of safety concerns.

Bass said it was important for her to see and experience what neighbors are faced with everyday, especially as the affected are struggling with respratory issues and headaches.

“These are homes. These are families that live here,” the mayor said while pointing out the streets next to the burned facility.

Bass said when firefighters first learned about 85 million pounds of food inside the storage, they didn’t really know what kind of food was inside. But they quickly learned much of the decomposing food was meat, which could complicate cleanup efforts.

“We did not realize there were so many meats that were here. They thought it was primarily bread products,” Bass said, noting exposed meat and flesh among the debris.

The mayor signed two executive directives last week to require the owner of the Lineage warehouse and tenant to submit a “comprehensive” plan for the removal of rotting food within 45 days.

Bass said, although she can’t force the private company to finish the cleanup as quickly as she would like, she said she will do everything to hold the owner accountable.

“This needs to be done as fast as possible,” she said. “They can’t take their own sweet time to remove this.”

Numerous studies have shown low-income communities and communities of color are disproportionately exposed to environmental pollution, especially if they have refineries, warehouses or manufacturing facilities in their neighborhood. A month before the warehouse fire, East Los Angeles near Boyle Heights was impacted by a crude oil spill with 2,400 gallons of oil spilled onto their streets.

“I think that’s the big concern with the people of Boyle Heights that they feel like almost they are targeted,” Bass said.

The mayor added her directives also require a survey of the warehouse, so that neighbors are more informed what’s in their community.

“I doubt very seriously the community was aware of what this facility was,” she said.

Crews Wednesday began draping white tarp around the building to minimize the impact of the overwhelming stench.