What to know about a cold storage warehouse fire in Los Angeles

Firefighters fight a warehouse fire in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, Sunday, June 21, 2026. Jae C. Hong/AP hide caption toggle caption Jae C. Hong/AP Six days into a firefight at a massive frozen-food storage facility near downtown Los Angeles, firefighters have yet to enter the building and have begun moving parts of the exterior walls to try to gain access. Smoke is billowing from the warehouse, which is roughly 500,000-square-foot (46,451-square-meter), covered in solar panels and insulated like a freezer. It's located across the street from homes in Boyle Heights, a working-class neighborhood east of downtown, and city officials on Monday warned people to stay inside or wear masks due to smoke pollution. A large warehouse fire can typically be put out in a day, but in a cold storage facility, it can take weeks, authorities said. The fire sparked Wednesday. Here's what to know: Why is it taking so long to put it out? Fires in cold storage facilities often burn for weeks because their heavily insulated ceilings, roofs and walls make them difficult to extinguish, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Jamie Stewart said. Firefighters have not been able to enter the building due to the danger posed by floor-to-ceiling heavy-duty steel rack shelving, he said. They also have been unable to quickly ventilate the roof due to the insulation, which is what they would typically do to release gas and smoke and gain visibility inside a warehouse, he said. …