{"id":983446,"date":"2026-08-06T00:48:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T00:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/983446\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T00:48:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T00:48:19","slug":"five-takeaways-from-la-residents-on-day-1-of-the-lineage-fire-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/983446\/","title":{"rendered":"Five takeaways from LA residents on Day 1 of the Lineage fire hearing"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story<\/a> first appeared on The LA Local<\/a>.<\/p>\n

More than 100 Boyle Heights and East L.A. residents packed a boardroom Wednesday in Diamond Bar to tell air regulators how air pollution and lingering odors from the Lineage warehouse fire have affected their health, homes and daily lives.<\/p>\n

Some boarded buses before 8 a.m. to travel the 25 miles to the South Coast Air Quality Management District hearing, where the agency is considering whether to order stricter cleanup requirements and penalties against Lineage Logistics.<\/p>\n

The hearing board is considering whether to issue an order of abatement, which would require Lineage to take specific steps to address air pollution from the warehouse fire and meet stricter cleanup standards at the site.<\/p>\n

Keep up with LAist.<\/p>\n

If you’re enjoying this article, you’ll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less. <\/p>\n

The hearing comes after AQMD said it received more than 4,000 odor complaints since early July and issued 19 notices of violation to Lineage, alleging the odors created a public nuisance. <\/p>\n

Lineage said it had removed about 80% of the food waste from the facility and expects to spend\u00a0<\/a>between $80 million and $100 million on cleanup.<\/p>\n

The air district hearing board is expected to continue its review Thursday as it considers issuing an order and possibly charging fines for the air quality violations. Board and Lineage representatives are scheduled to give presentations tomorrow on the cleanup and related pollution.<\/p>\n

Here are five takeaways from the testimony.<\/p>\n

1. Residents made the trip to make sure their voices were heard<\/p>\n

Several speakers said it was frustrating that residents had to leave their communities, miss work and travel to Diamond Bar just to be heard. They called on AQMD to hold future hearings in Boyle Heights, closer to the people most affected by the fire.<\/p>\n

On the bus ride to the hearing, residents told Boyle Heights Beat that they were coming to speak for their children, for neighbors who feared reprisal and because they had lived through environmental crises, like the Exide battery recycling plant, which contaminated neighborhoods in Southeast Los Angeles for years.<\/p>\n

2. Weeks later, people say they still don\u2019t feel safe<\/p>\n

Speakers told the hearing board they are still dealing with foul odors from rotting food and health issues, including nausea, headaches, bloody noses, rashes, sinus and eye infections, asthma flare-ups and breathing problems. Many said they worry about the long-term effects of exposure and whether the air will be safe when kids return to school<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Amanda Diaz carried her newborn son with her to the microphone. She told the board her son was about two weeks old when the fire broke out . Her voice shaking with emotion, Diaz said she had to take her child to a hospital after he broke out in rashes, and she is worried that the exposure has caused harm that isn\u2019t yet apparent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fire has robbed me of these chances to recover from childbirth in peace and enjoy these precious first weeks with my son,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Several people said the impacts extend beyond the streets closest to the warehouse and that more people across Boyle Heights and East L.A. have been affected.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes the air have a ZIP code?\u201d resident Margarita Gonzalez asked the board and Lineage\u2019s representatives, inviting them to spend time in her home to better understand the extent of the odor problem. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur community deserves fresh air,\u201d Erika Jimenez, who lives near Mariachi Plaza, added.<\/p>\n

3. Elected leaders call lingering odors a public health crisis<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass addresses the board and residents via remote video at a hearing held in the William A. Burke Auditorium of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) in Diamond Bar.<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Gary Coronado<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

The LA Local<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, District 14 City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado and State Sen. Mar\u00eda Elena Durazo urged the board to require stricter cleanup standards and impose financial penalties against Lineage.<\/p>\n

Bass called on the board to use its enforcement authority to require a stronger cleanup plan, including financial support for impacted residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the residents of Boyle Heights are facing is not just a nuisance, but it is a public health crisis that requires urgent and actionable measures,\u201d Bass told the board.<\/p>\n

Bass said Lineage should be required to establish a fund dedicated to the ongoing support of impacted residents, including relocating them until the issue is completely resolved. She added that the company has made some effort to provide help but only after pressure from residents and elected leaders.<\/p>\n

Jurado said the sheer volume of complaints and notices of violations is evidence enough that Lineage\u2019s management of the crisis has been inadequate.<\/p>\n

\u201cResidents should not have to file complaint after complaint to force a multi-billion-dollar corporation to contain the harm that it created,\u201d Jurado told the board. <\/p>\n

She added that any order against Lineage should include firm deadlines, aggressive odor control, public reporting and meaningful consequences if it is violated.<\/p>\n

Durazo echoed outrage that residents are expected to endure unsafe conditions while the cleanup unfolds at the \u201ccompany\u2019s pace.\u201d She said the rotting material should be removed before students are expected to return to school on Aug. 12.<\/p>\n

Durazo said Lineage should pay for the full cost of housing and home remediation for residents, and the board should enforce the maximum financial penalty against the company. She also asked that another hearing be held in Boyle Heights rather than miles away during the workday.<\/p>\n

\u201cResidents deserve to be heard,\u201d Durazo said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Concerned residents of Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles at a hearing held in Diamond Bar. The South Coast AQMD Hearing Board held a hearing listening to proposed conditions to reduce odors impacting the nearby community from the Lineage Warehouse fire cleanup in Boyle Heights.<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Gary Coronado<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

The LA Local<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

4. Residents say they don\u2019t want history to repeat itself<\/p>\n

For many speakers, the Lineage fire was not an isolated incident. They said it was another example of Boyle Heights and East L.A. communities being forced to live with the impacts of policies and businesses that create health hazards for the community.<\/p>\n

Several people compared the situation to Exide. Others questioned why communities near industrial facilities are often asked to endure pollution and health risks while waiting for action.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are witnessing environmental racism,\u201d Eve Sanchez said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Alma Martinez, of Monterey Park, weeps during public comments at a hearing held in the William A. Burke Auditorium of the South Coast Air Quality Management District in Diamond Bar.<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Gary Coronado<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

The LA Local<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

Some called for the warehouse and other industrial facilities to move away from residential neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need you to pay attention to what\u2019s happening in our community and for these factories to move from their location please,\u201d said Cristina Fernandez, an East L.A. resident, with help from an interpreter. <\/p>\n

She also invited Lineage representatives to visit her home and experience the poor air quality.<\/p>\n

5. Students and parents describe a disrupted summer and back-to-school concerns<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Leonardo Gutierrez, 8, and mother Maria Pati\u00f1o Gutierrez, of East Los Angeles, address the board at a hearing held in the William A. Burke Auditorium of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) in Diamond Bar.<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Gary Coronado<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

The LA Local<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

Several youth who are members of East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice spoke on behalf of their families and their neighbors and highlighted the uncertainty of going back to school in the aftermath of Lineage.<\/p>\n

\u201cAm I expected to go into my senior year in these conditions? It\u2019s ridiculous,\u201d said Isabella Hernandez, a Boyle Heights resident.<\/p>\n

\u201cLineage is banking on the fact that we\u2019re poor,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cThey think we\u2019re stupid and uneducated and that we\u2019re just going to lie down and take this.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not. We deserve clean air and a safe place to live,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n

Another Boyle Heights youth spoke about a lack of purifiers being distributed. <\/p>\n

\u201cI come from a multigenerational home and we only have one air purifier \u2026 How does this make sense?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Maria Pati\u00f1o Gutierrez said she\u2019s not comfortable with her son going back to school, which is less than two miles away from Lineage.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur summer plans were ruined because of this fire,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Her son also addressed officials during the hearing. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was my birthday when the fire started,” he said. “My baseball game was canceled. Everything was canceled because of the fire.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This story first appeared on The LA Local. More than 100 Boyle Heights and East L.A. residents packed…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":983447,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[386459,8624,1582,276,53640,2961,394648,394649,224,5337,386457,363206,394650],"class_list":["post-983446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-air-regulators","tag-boyle-heights","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-east-la","tag-la","tag-lineage-hearing","tag-lineage-warehouse","tag-los-angeles","tag-losangeles","tag-south-coast-aqmd","tag-warehouse-fire","tag-where-was-the-hearing"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117045817118234073","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/983446","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=983446"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/983446\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/983447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=983446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=983446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=983446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}