Amidst the stench and worry of rats, millions of pounds of rotting flesh have been hauled from Boyle Heights
The city of Los Angeles has developed a plan and has begun removing millions of pounds of perishable food from the burned Boyle Heights warehouse.
Pest traps have been placed outside the damaged warehouse and on neighboring streets, and city officials said Lineage, the company that owns the facility, is using deodorizers and misters to reduce odors from rotting food.
“The fire may be over, but the crisis is far from over for families, workers, students and small businesses living with odors, pests, truck traffic and remaining uncertainty,” Los Angeles Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado said in a prepared statement Monday.
Firefighters battled for several days to knock down the blaze that occasionally shrouded Boyle Heights and East LA neighborhoods in smoke after it ignited on June 17. Large metal stacks of melting food inside the warehouse prevented firefighters from safely entering the building to reach the blaze directly, forcing them to tear through part of it with exterior flames to fight the flames from the outside.
But the lengthy task appeared to be a long way off as of Monday, as city officials said they were waiting for a trailer of heavy lifters to come down city streets to clean up the damaged warehouse, while other workers simultaneously tried to fend off the hungry insects.
85 million pounds of food, including meat and fish, is expected to be pulled from landfills in Los Angeles, Ventura and Riverside counties.
Lineage estimates it will need 5,000 trucks, according to a statement from Mayor Karen Bass’ office.
“Natural hazards from industrial disasters often fall on communities like Boyle Heights,” Bass said in a statement. “Those involved will be held accountable, and the City is working with many organizations to provide services to families and business owners who need them most.”
A small team from the Los Angeles Fire Department is expected to remain in the area to monitor the area in case things go wrong. But Lineage has a contract with a private fire company to continue dousing the smoldering debris fields if necessary as crews try to remove the debris, according to the mayor’s office.
According to Bass’ office, trucks making trips in and out of the area will avoid busy roads and use established towing routes in an effort to minimize impacts to nearby areas.
Lineage also contracts with Orkin and Signal Restoration services to manage the potential for pests to be attracted to spoiled food.
Cats USA, a contractor for the city of Los Angeles, has also been tasked with conducting pest inspections at Bass’ destination, according to the statement, and is already working to set up traps near the warehouse and on residential streets.
“USA cats will monitor the traps three times a day and will adjust the frequency if necessary,” the statement said.
To control odors, city officials said Lineage is testing the use of chlorine dioxide as a deodorizer as food is unloaded from trucks.
Lineage also uses misters inside the building to try to eliminate food odors until they are removed from the premises.
“Each truck will also be deodorized as it leaves the warehouse,” the statement read.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is also testing and monitoring water quality several times a day as the cleanup effort continues, according to the statement. Current testing shows that Boyle Heights tap water is safe.
