{"id":1014214,"date":"2026-08-21T04:15:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T04:15:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1014214\/"},"modified":"2026-08-21T04:15:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T04:15:24","slug":"hundreds-suffered-ill-health-from-massive-boyle-heights-warehouse-fire-new-survey-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1014214\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds suffered ill health from massive Boyle Heights warehouse fire, new survey finds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hundreds of Boyle Heights residents suffered health problems after a fire at a cold storage facility burned stubbornly for days, including respiratory infections, eye disorders and persistent coughing, according to a new study. <\/p>\n

The St. John\u2019s Community Health study found the symptoms were \u201cdirectly related to toxic exposure and smoke inhalation\u201d and raised more questions about the long-term effects of the fire on people who live in the community.<\/p>\n

The report<\/a> tallied symptoms and diagnoses of 1,306 patients who were treated at mobile clinics during a roughly six-week period after the fire started June 17.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe health impacts from the Lineage fire are serious and severe,\u201d said Jim Mangia, chief executive of St. John\u2019s Community Health, in an interview. \u201cThis is clearly widespread.\u201d<\/p>\n

The findings echo the experiences that residents living near the warehouse have shared for months.<\/p>\n

Data from government officials<\/a> show the air near the Lineage refrigerated-warehouse fire carried astronomically high levels of smoke and soot, surpassing some of the worst air pollution during the Los Angeles County fires in January 2025.<\/p>\n

The number of people going to emergency rooms with throat pain and concerns about smoke inhalation increased during this period.<\/a> <\/p>\n

Lineage officials declined to comment on the health study. <\/p>\n

The data released Tuesday by St. John\u2019s Community Health come from three mobile clinics that were deployed into the community after the fire ignited, according to a statement from the group. <\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A worker sprays down the floor of the Lineage warehouse on Aug. 5, 2026.<\/p>\n

(Ronaldo Bola\u00f1os\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Of 1,306 patients, 35.9% met \u201cfire-related exposure criteria,\u201d meaning they showed symptoms such as an acute upper respiratory infection, eye disorder, conjunctivitis, cough, asthma exacerbation or other respiratory problem. <\/p>\n

Those patients who were treated for smoke-related issues were overwhelmingly Latina women, according to the report. <\/p>\n

More than 91% of patients were Latino, and more than 64% of them were women. More than 63% of the patients were 50 or older. <\/p>\n

Dozens of other patients described symptoms such as anxiety, acute stress and insomnia, according to the report.<\/p>\n

\"a <\/p>\n

Myrna Silva stands next to an air purifier in her family\u2019s home about a block from the Lineage warehouse on July 29. Silva, her daughter, son and husband have been dealing with bronchial problems.<\/p>\n

(Genaro Molina \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cSt. John\u2019s report puts hard numbers behind what Boyle Heights residents have been telling us since June 17: this was not simply a warehouse fire \u2014 it was a public health emergency, and its effects did not end when the flames went out,\u201d Los Angeles City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Jurado said the City Council on Thursday was set to consider a motion to have the Los Angeles Housing Department find funding to pay for HVAC cleaning, odor remediation and air-filtration systems for seniors and low-income households affected by the fire.<\/p>\n

\u201cRecovery will not end when the site is cleared,\u201d Jurado said in the statement. \u201cLineage and every responsible party must be held accountable for the full cost of recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

1 <\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> Martin Ramirez, who works at a body shop across the street from the Lineage warehouse, becomes emotional while speaking with a reporter about the foul odor, which he said has caused him headaches, a sore throat and breathing problems. (Allen J. Schaben\/Los Angeles Times) 2.<\/strong> East Los Angeles resident Lissett Navarret, 30, describes the foul odor outside her home near the Lineage warehouse. (Allen J. Schaben\/Los Angeles Times) <\/p>\n

In a statement<\/a> Tuesday, Lineage said it was in the final stretch of removing food from the site, which involved using heavy equipment and workers climbing into racks six stories high. <\/p>\n

Public records obtained by The Times showed<\/a> that, as the fire burned for eight days, the number of patients who went to nearby hospitals reporting throat pain and concerns about smoke inhalation spiked. More than three times as many people went to emergency rooms within 10 miles of the warehouse mentioning the fire or smoke inhalation than two weeks prior. <\/p>\n

The fire, believed to have started in the roof of the 500,000-square-foot cold-storage warehouse, immediately raised health concerns because of the thick smoke that spread across the area. No evacuation order was issued for residents who lived next door. <\/p>\n

The fire did prompt two shelter-in-place orders when it reached an ammonia line, but Los Angeles Fire Department officials and Lineage said no ammonia was detected.<\/p>\n

The fire was declared knocked down on June 24, but 88 million pounds of rotting food remained inside. After the smoke subsided, residents reported feeling effects<\/a> from the stench of rotting meat and food from the warehouse interior, where it had been stored frozen on tall racks that were hundreds of feet across. Amid repeated heat waves and the terrible smell, residents said they felt nauseated, got headaches and lost their appetite. <\/p>\n

\"An <\/p>\n

Construction crews continue cleanup efforts at Lineage on Aug. 14.<\/p>\n

(Allen J. Schaben \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

The company missed an Aug. 14 deadline<\/a> \u2014 issued by Mayor Karen Bass \u2014 to clean up the waste within 45 days.<\/p>\n

Lineage contested the city\u2019s deadline, and argued the company still had until Thursday to complete the work. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a 45-day deadline that we\u2019re running hard toward,\u201d Jeff Rivera, Lineage chief operating officer, told The Times in an interview last week.<\/p>\n

But the company appeared to be poised to miss that deadline as well. As that deadline was set to expire Thursday, the company removed a tracker on its website that had been providing updates on the progress of the cleanup effort. As of Wednesday evening, the tracker stated the company was 97% complete. On Thursday, the tracker was gone. <\/p>\n

In a statement Thursday evening, the company confirmed the cleanup effort was not completed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cleanup is in the final stretch with hundreds of workers working around the clock on removing residual food waste, power washing, disinfecting, and deodorizing the facility,\u201d the company said in the statement to The Times. \u201cWe will continue to work tirelessly until the cleanup is complete.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an email update sent to residents on Thursday, the company stated it had completed clearing \u201c101.8%\u201d of the food waste inside one of the two massive freezers in the warehouse. A disclaimer on the email noted that the percentage was based on weight, and the company had removed more weight than it had originally stored because of \u201cwater and other cleaning products added during the firefighting and cleanup.\u201d<\/p>\n

But cleanup of the freezer was still incomplete. <\/p>\n

Bass criticized the company in a statement Thursday for not finishing the work.<\/p>\n

\u201cLineage and Chill Build do not deserve to rebuild,\u201d Bass said in the statement. \u201cAt every turn, Lineage has failed to meet its responsibility to this community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mayor said city attorneys would look to pursue litigation, a lien and other legal options against the company.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot take them at their word,\u201d Bass said. \u201cWe still cannot get clear answers.\u201d <\/p>\n

For residents and community groups, the health report from St. John\u2019s Community Health validates what they\u2019ve been experiencing firsthand.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what we\u2019ve been seeing,\u201d said Alma Marquez, an organizer with the group Protect L.A. Now, which has been doing outreach and advocating for residents affected by the fire. <\/p>\n

Although the report spotlights some of the issues, Marquez said, a more thorough study needs to be done to get a handle on the entire health effects of the fire. <\/p>\n

Mangia said that healthcare providers saw residents with mostly respiratory issues but that many of the residents were also exhibiting rashes and skin irritations. <\/p>\n

The numbers, Mangia said, are an indication that healthcare providers need to track not just the immediate impacts of the fire but also the long-term effects. <\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

Remediation work continues at Lineage.<\/p>\n

(Allen J. Schaben \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Although the number of patients coming to the clinics has decreased over time, Mangia said, there is still concern about other issues tied to the warehouse site, such as the pests.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t go to Boyle Heights without being inundated with flies, and the streets are inundated with rats,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

As the cleanup has progressed, Lineage has been racking up thousands of dollars in fines from public health regulators \u2014 a drop in the bucket for the global cold-storage juggernaut. Last year, the company was valued at more than $4 billion when it went public<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Although some residents have sought medical care for worsening symptoms, Marquez said she is concerned many decide to just bear it and soldier on without going to an emergency room or health clinic \u2014 which leads to incomplete data.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this is massive underreporting,\u201d Marquez said. \u201cPeople have been getting sick at home, by themselves, thinking it\u2019s just them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hundreds of Boyle Heights residents suffered health problems after a fire at a cold storage facility burned stubbornly…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1014215,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,405827,41512,405826,5025,4572,142560,2961,391453,224,5337,13009,13987,3546,1630,13118,269768,11004,104814],"class_list":["post-1014214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-community-health-study","tag-concern","tag-experience-resident","tag-fire","tag-hundred","tag-jim-mangia","tag-la","tag-lineage-fire","tag-los-angeles","tag-losangeles","tag-number","tag-patient","tag-people","tag-report","tag-smoke-inhalation","tag-st-john","tag-statement","tag-symptom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117131565873888098","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1014214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1014214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1014214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1014215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1014214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1014214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1014214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}