As of Thursday afternoon, Gabriela Dueñas could still see white smoke smoldering from the roof of the cold storage facility where a fire broke out Wednesday, prompting an hours-long shelter-in-place order due to hazardous materials, including ammonia.
“I try not to go outside. I’m really scared. Right now, I can see it from my window,” said Dueñas, who lives less than a half mile away from the fire site. The fire was so close that Dueñas and her neighbors hosed down their homes and nearby trees in fear that flames would reach their street.
“You can still smell it,” she said on Thursday afternoon. “The smell is a lot stronger.”
While the shelter-in-place order for Boyle Heights was lifted Wednesday night, it was reissued Thursday afternoon as fire authorities undertook “ventilation measures.” Residents east of Lorena Street were ordered again to stay indoors with the windows closed. But more broadly across the Eastside, many remain concerned about the air quality and risks associated with hazardous materials.
LAFD Chief Jaime Moore on Wednesday said the ammonia is not toxic to individuals unless they have respiratory issues or come into direct contact with it; potential ammonia exposure is what initially prompted the shelter-in-place order to the surrounding neighborhood. Meanwhile, organizers with Eastyard Communities for Environmental Justice said health risks to “frontline communities” remain, even as the clouds of dark smoke are gone.
“If this was a totally different community, a wealthier community, a whiter community, they would be communicating with us much differently,” said mark! Lopez with Eastyard Communities for Environmental Justice. “It’s crazy for them to say it’s not a problem unless you come into contact with the poison.”
“We don’t think there’s been adequate investigation yet to really understand whether or not there’s an ongoing threat, and the fact that it’s smoldering means that it is,” he continued.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District early Thursday afternoon extended a particle pollution advisory until at least 12:30 p.m. Friday for an area including Boyle Heights, central Los Angeles, and parts of Northeast LA following Wednesday’s fire.
Early monitoring showed particles were generally present at background levels, AQMD said, but for several seconds at a time, they found increased levels of bromine and chlorine.
“Bromine and chlorine are typically found at trace levels during structural fires and the levels seen were below short-term health-based exposure thresholds,” AQMD said. “Concentrations below this level are not expected to cause adverse health effects. No significant levels of air toxic metals were seen.”
To limit exposure, AQMD recommended closing doors and windows, remaining indoors if possible, and running an air purifier if one is available.
At a press conference Thursday morning, LAFD officials said air quality was being monitored in the area, adding that there was no public threat. However, residents in Boyle Heights reported concerns over smoke, ash and the lingering smell; the air remained acrid and smelled like plastic on Thursday morning.
Dueñas, 34, plans to stay inside.
Dueñas has advised her family to continue masking up. She plans to keep their windows closed and fans on. She said her neighbors have been handing out masks. Luckily, her sister equipped the family with N95 masks, she said. Dueñas said she saw dark ashes outside after the fire that looked like pieces of plastic or particles.
“I told people around us, ‘Do not take off your mask,’” Dueñas said. “I’m not confident that this is not going to cause long-lasting issues in the future. We have pets. They were coughing. There are elderly people. I’m still very much concerned.”
Eastyard Communities has been advising residents within a mile of the facility to leave, if they’re able to do so, until the smoke clears and the site is under control.
Sheltering in place goes beyond closing doors and windows, Lopez said.
“We’re talking about really old housing. We’re talking about a lot of apartments that are not maintained well by their landlords. There’s issues with sealing up windows, sealing up doors, cracks in walls. There’s access points for the contamination,” Lopez said.
Lopez advised putting wet towels or taping up potential access points.
“I think the bare minimum information is what was given, and a potentially false sense of security,” Lopez said.
On Thursday, Brissa Sanchez, founder of the East LA Walking Club, made sure to wear a mask as she scouted walking locations for the club. Sanchez canceled their weekly Wednesday meetup due to the fire.
“We’ve been in this position before. Just last month, we had the fires happening in Simi Valley … then the oil spill that happened. It’s just been really disappointing, and frustrating, and saddening that all of this is happening in our community,” said Sanchez, 32.
“Hopefully we’re back next week,” she said.
As she walked her East LA route Thursday, Sanchez said she saw many people going about their day without wearing a mask.
“I feel like we’re still recovering from the oil spill having happened, and we still don’t even know what the consequences of that are, and then now with this?” Sanchez said. “It would be great to keep hearing follow-up updates … I feel like we’re just so busy in our daily lives, but we do have these concerns in the back of our minds.”
