As Eastside voters prepare to choose their next mayor, the Lineage warehouse fire and the city’s role in recovery and accountability remain top of mind for many.
At multiple mayoral candidate forums, Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Nithya Raman have been asked to reflect on the city’s response and what they’d do to prevent a similar disaster in the future. Neither candidate can count on sweeping Eastsiders’ support: Bass has secured endorsements from local leaders including Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez and state Sen. and incoming LA County District 1 Supervisor Maria Elena Durazo, while Raman has been endorsed by community group Eastside Padres and Los Angeles Unified School District board member Rocio Rivas.
Here’s a look at the actions Bass took during and after the fire, how Raman has pushed back and what both candidates are promising to the community.
Smoke relief and evacuations
Bass was in Chicago when the fire broke out on June 17. By the fourth day, the mayor had declared a local emergency and stood alongside city and county officials to provide the latest updates on air quality and the Los Angeles Fire Department’s firefighting efforts. The city and county opened 24-hour smoke relief shelters for impacted residents to receive resources such as temporary shelter, masks, food, water and pet assistance.
Meanwhile, Raman shared resources online, urging Boyle Heights residents to stay updated through LAFD alerts and monitor the air quality online. She later criticized the lack of evacuations for households in close proximity to Lineage, something that Bass has said was not deemed necessary given directives from the fire department and air quality officials. The city secured funding from Lineage and Airbnb to relocate over 1,300 residents living closest to the fire, but those resources were not made available until three weeks later.
Looking ahead, Bass has said she would create emergency evacuation plans for communities close to warehouses like Lineage, which include identifying locations for relief shelters and having stockpiles of equipment like masks and air purifiers.
“That should never happen again. In the future, we should know that in all of these areas, this is our plan to evacuate,” Bass said at an environmental mayoral forum in September.
Addressing health concerns
As the fire was still burning on June 21, blanketing the Eastside in smoke, Bass responded to a reporter’s question on air quality by saying, “No, the air is not dangerous.” The mayor walked back those comments days later, but by then, the damage had been done.
The phrase sowed distrust among affected residents. At a contentious town hall meeting in July, residents loudly booed Bass, elected leaders and Lineage officials and held signs that said “Mayor Bass lied” and “We’re being poisoned.”
The statement was also highly criticized by her opponent. Even before Bass’ comment on the air not being dangerous, Raman had posted, “Any smoke is not good for your health.” A few weeks later, Raman made appearances on nearly every local TV news station, describing Bass’ comments on air quality as “shocking.” In an Instagram video, Raman called the statements “incorrect and potentially dangerous.”
“It feels like the mayor’s office is not prepared for emergencies. Is not prepared to move fast enough during a crisis,” Raman told NBC4.
The smoke cleared as the fire was put out on June 24, but then came the overwhelmingly foul odors of thousands of pounds of rotting food trapped inside the destroyed warehouse. Months later, some residents have continued to experience nose and throat irritation and question what was in the air they breathed.
With residents reporting serious health effects, Bass announced free mobile health clinics providing clinical evaluations, respiratory care, medication access and connections to social support to help residents navigate recovery. In an interview with Boyle Heights Beat, she also said she directed her efforts by listening to what residents said they needed. A community resource center opened up at Lou Costello Recreation Center to provide resources including air purifiers, food and diapers for affected families.
Meanwhile, Raman has characterized the city and county response to residents’ needs as disorganized and slow. As mayor, Raman said she would establish a city public health director who coordinates with state and regional authorities to get timely and accurate information out during a disaster.
During a mayoral debate hosted by NBC4 and Telemundo52 on Oct. 13, Raman said she would “make sure that our community is met with resources, evacuation support and the information they need in the languages that they need, which this community did not get during these fires.”
Cleanup and accountability
During the cleanup, Bass used executive orders to place a strict 45-day deadline on Lineage to remove the rotting food, which the company did not meet. Instead, it completed its cleanup on Sept. 5, more than three weeks after the deadline. Bass said the city was considering legal action related to the missed deadline, but so far, that hasn’t happened.
Both candidates have opposed Lineage rebuilding in Boyle Heights. Bass, along with the City Council, has established a temporary suspension of the permit to rebuild Lineage’s damaged facility.
Bass also continually called on Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a pair of bills aimed at increasing accountability and protections for communities near facilities like Lineage, which Newsom signed into law last month.
Raman has said that industries operating near residential areas should get “higher levels of scrutiny and oversight from the city.” She’s also called into question whether officials’ account of the disaster can be trusted.
Raman has been skeptical about the role of an unpaid, informal Bass advisor who was in Bass’ press office’s private WhatsApp groups after he had been hired to do crisis communications for Lineage. Bass’ press office told L.A. Material at the time that “He has not communicated with the Mayor nor the office on behalf of Lineage.”
“We need a full, transparent investigation into Lineage’s actions and the city’s handling of this disaster,” Raman said at a rally held outside the warehouse with community group Eastside Padres on Aug. 18. “This community deserves answers about what was released into the air, whether officials knew about it, whether monitors were accurate and why families are still fighting for basic, basic things.”
At the Oct. 13 debate, Bass said she was “proud” of the advocacy she has done to push for legislation and her efforts to stop Lineage from rebuilding, “considering the damage that was done to the neighborhood.”
