Hours before a town hall meeting with elected officials and Boyle Heights residents impacted by a weeklong fire at a cold-storage warehouse, building operator Lineage Logistics announced a series of community support efforts, including temporary housing vouchers, cash assistance and utility bill subsidies.
“We recognize the profound impact this fire has had on our neighbors in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles,” Lineage Chief Operating Officer Jeff Rivera said in a statement released Thursday. “Our expanded support today is the direct result of listening to nearby residents and community leaders and acting on what we have heard. We have been here throughout this situation, we will continue to be here, and we will keep listening, for as long as this recovery requires.”
Lineage officials said the company previously invested $2.5 million in community assistance. A financial total of its latest plans was not immediately released. But according to Lineage, the company has committed to provide:
— Vouchers for short-term hotel and rental assistance for “residents who choose to temporarily relocate during the cleanup and remediation process”;
— Delivery of more air purifiers, air conditions and masks to residents, with company officials saying they have already distributed more than 600 air purifiers and 2,000 masks as part of its earlier community donation;
— Provision of grocery vouchers redeemable at a Food4Less store on Olympic Boulevard;
— Cash assistance provide through pre-paid cards; and
— Support to assist residents with payments of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power utility bills.
Lineage officials said the company has to date provided residents with roughly 7,000 meals in partnership with the LA Regional Food Bank.
“The people living and working in the community deserve timely results and meaningful support,” Lineage CEO Greg Lehmkuhl said in a statement. “Over the last several days, we have been meeting with local elected officials and engaging community organizations and leaders to understand how we can best help our neighbors. At the same time, demolition is underway and cleanup is progressing. Right now, our top priority is simple: get this site cleaned up as quickly and safely as possible.”
The announcement came ahead of a 6 p.m. community meeting planned at Stevenson Middle School, during which Lineage officials were expected to hear concerns from residents, community leaders and elected officials, including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, county Supervisor Hilda Solis and City Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado.
The session will be the second interaction this week between residents and Lineage officials. On Monday night, a group of residents and community leaders, including Jurado, met with Lineage officials to discuss their concerns stemming from the weeklong fire that erupted June 17 and gutted much of the nearly 500,000-square-foot warehouse and left behind 85 million pounds of rotting food — leading to noxious odors, environmental concerns and an influx of rodents.
During the meeting, residents asked for “emergency housing support, smoke and toxin remediation, relief for small businesses and street vendors, funding for community health providers, stronger community notification, and clear, science-based information throughout the recovery,” according to Jurado’s office.
Many residents left that meeting disappointed. Jurado said Lineage at the time did not provide concrete public commitments, funding amounts or implementation timelines for the relief and recovery measures requested.
On Tuesday, the county Board of Supervisors voted to send a list of demands to the company to ensure continued support for impacted community members. The board called on the company to respond within 48 hours.
The board motion, authored by Solis, called on Lineage to keep providing resources and financial support for county community response centers, including food, water, masks and air purifiers. It also called for Lineage to provide temporary housing for residents in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles impacted by the fire, including shelter for pets and service animals, “for the duration of the remediation efforts.”
The county also called on Lineage to provide funding for local health clinics and county health services involved in the response to the fire, and financial support for community organizations that have been providing support for residents and businesses. It also called for the establishment of a multilingual hotline and claims center, community meetings, details of plans for removing rotting food and other materials from the structure, decontamination plans and daily publication of results from monitoring of water runoff from the site and air quality. It also asked for details of disposal plans for the materials being removed from the site.
Last weekend, Bass, Solis and Jurado sent a letter to Lehmkuhl and accused the company of failing to commit to “the most basic steps of sharing comprehensive, real-time data about the volume of rotting food and debris being removed from the site.”
Bass, Solis and Jurado listed several demands such as providing immediate, temporary housing for Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles residents impacted by the fire, the creation of a smoke and toxin remediation program at no cost to renters, homeowners and business owners, and to fund qualified community health centers that are not providing mobile medical clinics to the community.
They called for an enhanced notification schedule with 48-hour advanced notice of all major hauling activities, demolition phases, or operations likely to generate dust, odor, noise or traffic.
Additionally, the three elected officials urged Lineage to establish a multilingual hotline and claims center for residents and businesses.
The fire broke out June 17 at the warehouse at 1400 S. Los Palos St. and raged for eight days, sending a massive amount of smoke into the atmosphere and prompting warnings for nearby residents to stay inside.
The city, county and state all issued local emergency declarations in the days following the fire.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but Lineage officials have said they believe the fire started while a subcontractor working for Altus Power, which owns the solar array on top of the building, was conducting tests on the panels.
Altus Power has stated its first concern is for the community affected by the fire.
According to Lineage, demolition work on the building officially began Monday. Efforts to remove the 85 million pounds of rotting food, along with other debris, from the facility are continuing. Company officials said Thursday they hope to completed debris removal from the site within 45 days.
“In addition to core demolition and debris removal, Lineage has wrapped portions of the building with a temporary enclosure barrier to help contain debris, reduce odors and dampen noise for neighboring residents,” according to the company. “Misting systems are operating continuously around the building exterior to further reduce smells. Cleanup crews remain on site around the clock.
“… Lineage is committed to providing regular cleanup updates to the community through its website, social media, door-to-door outreach, printed flyers and ongoing community meetings. For the latest information, cleanup progress updates and community resources, please visit: onelineage.com/lospalos.”
A community health clinic will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday at Lou Costello Recreation Center, 3141 E. Olympic Blvd.