Los Angeles cleanup of burned food warehouse nears completion amid resident complaints

Cleanup crews in Los Angeles have removed most of the millions of pounds of food that began rotting after a cold-storage warehouse burned for more than a week in June. The South Coast Air Quality Management District said the remaining debris will be cleared and the freezer sanitized within a week, marking the end of a major phase of the cleanup.

Lineage Logistics, the operator of the facility, reported spending over 100,000 hours and more than $100 million on the effort, noting that “no cleanup of this scale and speed has been executed before.”

Local officials and community groups, however, say the odor and smoke lingered for weeks, prompting legislative action, thousands of air-quality complaints and multiple lawsuits alleging respiratory issues and economic losses. City Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado criticized Lineage for missing cleanup deadlines, while a Lineage spokesperson declined to comment on ongoing complaints, referring instead to the company’s earlier statement.

Three community organizations have filed notices of intent to sue, accusing the company of not fully reporting chemicals released during the fire. Alma Marquez of Protect L.A. Now said she and her family continue to experience headaches and breathing difficulties from lingering smoke.