Latest Boyle Heights shelter-in-place order lifted as crews battle cold-storage facility fire

Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times on Jun 19, 2026

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LOS ANGELES — The latest shelter-in-place order for residents around a burning cold-storage facility in Boyle Heights has been lifted, the Los Angeles Fire Department announced Friday.

The fire at the massive cold-storage facility at 1400 S. Los Palos St. broke out Wednesday afternoon. The fire is mostly in the solar-panel-covered roof area. The LAFD previously said the flames reaching an ammonia line had led to several small explosions.

The building is so big and the flames in such hard-to-reach areas that water-dropping helicopters are being used.

The multi-day effort has been full of challenges for firefighters.

The fire initially grew into a huge inferno, creating a pillar of thick, black smoke that could be seen for miles. The fire reached an ammonia line, triggering several small explosions and a dramatic image of flames shooting through the building roof as crews evacuated the area to avoid the fumes.

Residents in a larger area were told to shelter in place, but that order was lifted later Wednesday night.

Then on Thursday, crews discovered more flames in a different section of the building, prompting them to reinstitute a shelter-in-place order. They lifted that order on Friday just before 11:30 a.m.

"Overnight we were able to evacuate the ammonia tanks that were on site that we were concerned about," an LAFD official told KTLA during a televised interview. "[They've] been removed from the site completely."

But other challenges with the fire remain, the official told KTLA.

"Initially there were solar panels on fire, including roofing material, nine inches of foam," he said. "Inside it got into the cold storage, which is piled at least 58 feet high in each rack. There's a lot of boxes and pallets on fire. Items that could fall on firefighters, which is keeping us from going inside there."

An LAFD alert Friday morning announcing the shelter-in-place order was lifted cautioned that "although smoke in the area has decreased, individuals with sensitivity to smoke should continue to ... avoid unnecessary exposure to outdoor air."

The smoke from the fire also prompted a special particle pollution advisory from the South Coast Air Quality Management District. It was expected to remain in effect until 12:30 p.m.

The nearly 500,000-square-foot warehouse is owned by Lineage Logistics.