Boyle Heights Warehouse Cleanup Stalls as Lineage and Altus Power Clash

A massive fire tore through a cold storage warehouse in Boyle Heights. Now, weeks later, the cleanup itself has turned into a fight.

Lineage, the company that operates the fire-damaged warehouse, says it was ready to start demolition work last Friday. Then it got a letter demanding it stop. That letter came from Altus Power, the company that owns the solar panels on the building’s roof.

The demolition halted almost immediately after that.

How This Started

The fire broke out on June 17 at the facility on South Los Palos Street in Boyle Heights. It burned for nearly a week before firefighters declared it knocked down on June 24.

Lineage believes the fire started while contractors working for Altus Power were testing the rooftop solar array. Altus Power disputes that conclusion. The company says the cause has not been officially determined yet.

Here’s what makes this more complicated: this isn’t the first time. The same rooftop solar panels caught fire once before, in August 2024. That earlier fire was smaller. Crews put it out in under an hour with no injuries.

Why the Demolition Stopped

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued two executive orders after the fire, aimed at speeding up cleanup and holding responsible parties accountable.

Under those orders, and a Los Angeles County Public Health Directive from June 29, Lineage says it had the permits it needed. Crews were ready to move.

Then everything stalled.

Lineage CEO Greg Lehmkuhl sent a letter to Mayor Bass and County Supervisor Hilda Solis, laying out what happened:

• Demolition was staged and ready to begin Friday morning
• Debris had already been pre-treated
• LAFD investigators confirmed they did not require Lineage to halt the work
• Then, the night before a federal holiday, Altus Power sent a letter demanding a stop

Lehmkuhl didn’t hold back in his letter. He called the situation unacceptable, and said every hour of delay was an hour the company couldn’t use to fight active flare-ups or remove debris.

What Altus Power Says

Altus Power responded with its own statement. The company said its first concern is the community affected by the fire, and that it continues cooperating fully with investigators.

According to Altus, it wasn’t acting alone. The company said multiple parties joined in asking Lineage to preserve evidence rather than destroy it during the site remediation process.

Altus also pushed back on Lineage’s framing of the dispute. It said it was unfortunate that Lineage appeared focused on pointing fingers instead of getting the community the swift answers and cleanup it deserves.

The City’s Response

Mayor Bass replied to Lineage’s letter directly. She clarified something important: the city has not asked Lineage to demolish any part of the building connected to the fire investigation.

What the city actually wants is narrower. It wants the food waste removed as fast as possible, to eliminate the ongoing risk of fire flare-ups.

That distinction matters. Lineage argues that demolition itself is necessary to stop flare-ups and finally extinguish the fire for good. Altus argues that tearing down parts of the building risks destroying evidence tied to the investigation into what caused the fire in the first place.

A Local Councilmember Steps In

Ysabel Jurado, who represents Boyle Heights on the city council, weighed in with a statement of her own.

She said no private party should be allowed to use process disputes, finger-pointing, or liability arguments as an excuse to delay cleanup the community urgently needs.

Jurado called on every involved party, Lineage, Altus, the property owner, and the relevant agencies, to cooperate immediately. She added that if there are legitimate concerns about preserving evidence, those concerns need a clear written protocol. That protocol should let investigators do their job without stalling urgent remediation.

Why the Community Is Losing Patience

Residents near the warehouse have been dealing with real consequences since the fire started.

• The smell of rotting food has lingered in the area for weeks
• Rodents have reportedly been spotted running around the warehouse site
• Emergency room visits nearby tripled during the height of the fire

Some residents say the smell is finally starting to improve. But with demolition now paused indefinitely, there’s no clear timeline for when the site will be fully cleared.

Lineage says its equipment and materials remain staged and ready to move once landfills reopen Monday morning. The company says it’s committed to working through the holiday weekend to make up for lost time.

The Bigger Picture

This warehouse sits in an area with a difficult environmental history. It falls within what’s known as the Exide Technologies Buffer Zone, a 1.7-mile radius around a former battery recycling plant that polluted Boyle Heights and surrounding neighborhoods for years.

That history adds weight to how residents are reacting now. A community that has already dealt with one major industrial contamination issue is now watching two large companies argue over a cleanup timeline, while the smell and health concerns continue.

Lineage describes itself as the world’s largest temperature-controlled warehousing company, with more than 20 facilities across Southern California. The solar array on this specific rooftop was completed in December 2020 and generates over 6,000 kilowatts of energy, according to Altus Power’s own project listings.

What Is Confirmed

• The fire broke out on June 17 and was knocked down on June 24
• Lineage says the fire started during solar panel testing by Altus Power contractors
• Altus Power disputes that the cause has been determined
• The same rooftop panels caught fire once before, in August 2024
• Lineage says it was ready to demolish the site Friday but was stopped by an Altus Power letter
• Altus Power says multiple parties asked Lineage to preserve evidence
• Mayor Bass clarified the city is not requiring demolition tied to the fire investigation
• Councilmember Ysabel Jurado called for immediate cooperation between all parties
• ER visits near the site tripled during the fire

The Bottom Line

Two large companies are arguing over paperwork and protocol while a Los Angeles neighborhood deals with rotting food, rodents, and lingering health concerns.

Lineage wants to move fast and finish the job. Altus Power wants to make sure evidence survives long enough to determine what actually happened. Both positions sound reasonable on paper. Neither one is helping the people who live nearby right now.

Until these two companies agree on a path forward, Boyle Heights residents are stuck waiting for a cleanup that keeps getting delayed by a fight that isn’t theirs.