Irene Gonzalez arrived Thursday night at Stevenson Middle School ready to tell Lineage officials and elected leaders what it has been like living near the Boyle Heights warehouse.
She wanted them to “spend one night or one day in the community” she calls home, where she runs five air purifiers 24 hours a day, keeps windows closed and struggles with the smell of rotting food.
But Gonzalez never made it inside.
She was one of hundreds of residents who showed up to demand answers at the first public town hall since the Lineage warehouse erupted in flames last month, only to find the auditorium was already full.
The forum was billed as a chance for residents to hear directly from LA Mayor Karen Bass, City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, County Supervisor Hilda Solis, Lineage and other city and county departments.
More than 400 people clamored to get their voices heard. Hundreds more packed an overflow room to watch a livestream of the meeting inside the school’s cafeteria. Gonzalez and dozens more protested outside the school with members of Eastside Padres and Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), holding signs that read “Fuera Lineage,” and calling for the company to leave the community permanently.
The turnout revealed the depth of frustration in Boyle Heights and East LA nearly one month after the fire began, even as Bass acknowledged earlier that day in an interview with Boyle Heights Beat that the city and county’s response had been coordinated but needed “better communication.” For many residents at Thursday night’s meeting, the packed room and limited opportunities to speak suggested those gaps remained.
Inside, boos and chants of “shut it down” greeted elected officials and Lineage representatives as they took the stage. When Lineage Chief Operations Officer Jeff Rivera attempted to present the latest updates from the company, the crowd pushed back.
“I understand the uncertainty, the frustration, and the disruption this has caused, and I’m sorry,” Rivera said.
Shouts of “no,” “bulls***” and “get out of our community” drowned out Rivera as he answered what he called residents’ biggest question: “Is the air safe?…Yes.”
Still, beneath the anger were questions residents came hoping to get answered: When will the warehouse be cleaned up? What help is available to residents? And who will be held accountable?
New updates from Lineage
The town hall came days after a closed-door meeting between Lineage, Jurado and community organizations, where Rivera acknowledged the company was struggling to communicate with impacted residents.
On Thursday, Rivera outlined a new plan to give residents regular updates on the warehouse cleanup plans, truck routes to haul away the rotting food and daily air monitoring. Rivera also outlined the company’s “new wave of support” with a “neighborhood focus,” including expanding housing support, offering financial assistance and continuing to provide air purifiers and masks.
Here’s what Rivera announced:
- Housing vouchers for short-term hotel or rental support during the cleanup to residents in 400 homes located closest to the warehouse. (Residents were encouraged to call 211 to determine eligibility and get more information.)
- Grocery vouchers redeemable at Food4Less on Olympic Boulevard and Calada Street, a few blocks from the warehouse.
- Cash assistance for impacted residents.
- Regular updates on the cleanup schedule and daily air monitoring through Lineage’s website, printed flyers and a dedicated Instagram account.
- A community support hotline to answer questions directly.
The announcements came after leaders demanded Lineage meet a 45-day cleanup goal.
“The mayor put an aggressive 45-day schedule and we’re gonna beat that,” Rivera said, before clarifying, “We’re doing everything in our power to beat that.”
Rivera also explained the fire originated in rooftop solar panels and tried to quell residents’ worries by saying ammonia from the facility did not leak into the community, though those claims could not be independently verified.
Apologies come as residents demand more from leaders
While directing their outrage at Lineage, residents also turned to Bass, Jurado and Solis.
Residents criticized the initial response from elected leaders as inadequate, questioning why evacuations weren’t ordered, raising concerns about long-term health impacts and describing challenges accessing resources based on whether they lived in the county or city.
Early in her response, Bass said the air was not dangerous. At Thursday’s town hall, she walked back her statement.
“Let me straight up apologize for any confusion, miscommunication and information that was put out, especially at the beginning when the fires were still going on. Especially anything that I have said,” Bass said. “Whether or not the smoke was harmful or not, I am very clear that all smoke under all circumstances is harmful.”
Solis also received loud boos from the crowd when she stepped up to the podium. East LA residents have criticized the speed of her response to the fire as well as her handling of the East LA oil spill.
AQMD says call 1-800-CUTSMOG
Beyond questions about cleanup, residents also wanted to know who would be held responsible.
AQMD said they have the authority to issue a public nuisance violation against the company but residents need to call and issue a complaint every day in order to track the severity.
“That is what the public law, that is what the statute health and safety code says. If we don’t get those calls we are not able to issue a notice of violation.”
Bass pushed back and said, “The fact that residents have to call you every day, that’s not okay. …I do not like putting that burden on the community.”
“They haven’t asked us if we’re okay”
The meeting quickly transitioned from presentations to a Q&A session where residents were given time to address officials directly.
Joaquin Angeles said that despite elected leaders saying that they’ve gone door-to-door to offer resources, no one has come to his home near the warehouse.
“They haven’t asked us if we’re okay. Nobody worries about us…If we were Beverly Hills or another city, we would be protected and evacuated but because we are Latino, we have been discriminated against—we have been discriminated against,” said Angeles.
Maria Lopez described her experience living four houses away from the warehouse and teared up when she recalled how her daughter experienced nosebleeds after the fire.
“What we want is answers,” she said.
For residents like Gonzalez, a 45-day cleanup deadline can’t come soon enough.
“I feel sad, abandoned,” she said. “What are we going to do?”
