Frustration, fury reign at Boyle Heights town hall on Lineage warehouse fire

LOS ANGELES - Tensions in Boyle Heights reached a fever pitch Thursday evening as residents - fed up with exposure to toxic smoke, the smell of rotting food, and a lack of answers after the Lineage warehouse fire - made their frustrations known at a feisty town hall meeting.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass struggled to open the meeting over the loud boos and yelling of community members, actions that were repeated as other elected officials took the microphone. The crowd grew even louder when Lineage Chief Operating Officer Jeff Rivera took to the stage and was met with a chorus of "Liar!"

Scores of protesters marched a mile from the site of the hazardous blaze to the meeting, held at Stevenson Middle School, chanting as they walked that the warehouse had poisoned their community and they wanted it removed permanently.

More than 200 people were turned away at the door as the venue reached capacity, with several dozen protesters briefly pushing past security and forcing entry into the room. They exited as the meeting started and rejoined the crowd outside, rallying with drums, whistles and signs that read "Lineage out" and "We can see your greedy side."

"We are one community and city and are making sure we get the solutions needed," said protest leader Jazmine Garcia. "This is about quality of life. This is about not being ignored anymore."

Firefighters for several days struggled to knock down a stubborn blaze that started on the roof of the Lineage cold-storage warehouse in Boyle Heights on June 17.

Air quality has been a constant concern for the community since the incident began. Beyond the health hazards of breathing in smoke from a building fire, there was a brief, temporary scare when an ammonia line that helped keep the building refrigerated was compromised, though Lineage has said the chemical was not detected in the air. Additionally, 85 million pounds of food thawed, burned and spoiled inside, creating a terrible smell that emanated from the property.

"I know the last few weeks have been extremely difficult," Rivera said at the meeting. "I understand the uncertainty, the frustration, and the disruption that it's caused, and I am sorry."

As part of a pair of executive directives signed by Bass last week, city officials are requiring Lineage and the owner of the building, Chill Build, to submit a comprehensive cleanup plan to the city. The directives also require the companies to remove, within 45 days, the millions of pounds of rotting food inside the warehouse.

Rivera said that cleanup began Monday and that the company is moving as quickly as possible with a goal of beating the city's 45-day timeframe to complete the process.

Thus far, 1.4 million pounds of solid waste have been cleared, and 3.2 million more pounds are set for removal in the coming days, said Brian Martin, a representative for Clean Harbors, a company helping carry out the cleanup. Structural removal commenced Tuesday and is now 6.5% complete.

About 200 people are working on-site around the clock, and around 150 trucks are being used to ferry away debris, Martin said.

Lineage has wrapped portions of the building with a temporary material meant to contain debris, reduce odors and dampen noise during the remediation process. Misting systems also are being used on the exterior to reduce smells from the rotting food, while air quality monitoring is continuing in eight locations.

Rivera told residents that air quality monitoring results showed that the air was currently safe in the community. He also outlined resources Lineage would provide to residents living closest to the site during that cleanup. Those include grocery vouchers, housing vouchers for those who elect to relocate during cleanup, air purifiers, cash assistance and support for utility bills.

Ultimately, the reassurances about community resources and air quality failed to quell the fury inside the room as residents took the microphone during the Q&A section and repeatedly expressed feelings of betrayal and mistrust.

"I am very disgusted with how this response has played out in real time," said one Boyle Heights resident, who didn't share a name. "I feel that leadership in all levels - from Lineage, to city, to state, even federal - has failed us."

Elected leaders attempted to take accountability for the lack of clarity residents experienced around public health dangers and evacuation orders during the incident.

"Let me straight up apologize for any confusion, miscommunication and information that was put out, especially at the beginning when the fires were still going on, especially anything that I have said (about) whether or not the smoke was harmful," said Bass. "I am very clear that all smoke, under all circumstances, is harmful."

Bass said that the Lineage crisis is an environmental justice issue and highlights the health risks communities of color are disproportionately exposed to.

"There are hundreds, if not thousands, of warehouses in East L.A., in the San Fernando Valley and in South L.A.," she said, "and my commitment is to survey each of those facilities to find out what is happening in those facilities."

County Supervisor Hilda Solis said she recognized that the situation is "unbearable" for residents who live close to the warehouse.

"You're right to call out the places where the failures have been the most acute," she said. "So I'm here to listen and to try to do a better job starting tomorrow."

Rivera said Lineage was working to launch a community support line Monday so residents could express their needs directly to the company.

As Antonia Montes, 57, left the town hall, she said she was feeling frustrated, and that the meeting didn't solve the problems the Boyle Heights community is facing.

"I think what it proved is that the politicians, Karen Bass, the company Lineage, they don't know what they're doing," she said. "They don't know how to handle this situation. They don't know how to clean up this mess."

Last week, a group of about 50 residents rallied a block away from the warehouse and demanded the company clean up the debris from the fire and then pack up and leave.

Lineage "needs to clean up and never (come) back," said Alma Laugnas during the rally last week. "It's really hard for us to be living like this."

Crowds chanted in Spanish,"Que se vayan!" ("They should go!") and said their day-to-day lives continued to be affected, with kids and older residents unwilling to be outdoors because of the smell.

"It's horrendous," Montes said of the smell on Thursday evening. "You can't even breathe."

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This story was originally published July 10, 2026 at 2:17 AM.