Weather 
BOYLE HEIGHTS, LOS ANGELES () — The stench of 85 million pounds of rotting food inside a burned down Boyle Heights warehouse can be smelled from miles away, and that’s impacting businesses in the area.
The Los Angeles Fire Department is expected to turn the cold storage facility back to its operator, Lineage Logistics, on Monday so the company can take over the cleanup operation.
An estimated 5,000 truckloads of spoiled food will be removed and taken to landfills in Ventura and Riverside counties, according to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ office. The trucks will avoid residential streets and travel along existing hauling routes used by a nearby recycling facility.
“The fire may be knocked down, but this crisis is not over for the families, workers, students, and small businesses living with the odor, pests, truck traffic, and uncertainty left behind,” said Councilmember Ysabel Jurado said in a statement. “As 85 million pounds of spoiled food are removed from this site, my priority is making sure the cleanup is safe, transparent, and accountable to the people of Boyle Heights – not just to the agencies or the company responsible for this property. Residents deserve clear testing results, strong public health protections, real resources, and a recovery process shaped by the community most impacted.
Just a half mile away from the warehouse is Picaresca Tio Pepe. Patrons and employees are usually greeted by the smell of fresh coffee, but the community hasn’t been unable to escape the rancid stench for the last several days.
“It smells like something dying,” said shift leader Daniel Olvera.
Sydney Schwartz, who worked near the warehouse, said the smell is “not pleasant at all.”
The fire burned for eight days before the flames were officially extinguished on Thursday. Community members are anxious to have it cleaned up.
“It kind of worries me that the cleanup is going to take a lot longer than we’re expecting. Because it just looks like pallets on pallets and stuff,” Olvera added.
Lineage says there are plans to disinfect and control pests and odor, but the fire’s impact continues to be felt. The company has hired Signal Restoration Services that will be in charge of the cleanup.
“The previous week, foot traffic has been so slow. We haven’t even been putting out our patio furniture just because the smell outside isn’t the most favorable, so folks I’m pretty sure wouldn’t want to be eating or drinking coffee outside,” Olvera said.
Tio Pepe has brought in air purifiers and is working to keep the atmosphere as pleasant as possible while the cleanup of the rotting food down the street gets underway.
“We don’t have air conditioning in this location. We have a swamp cooler which I believe brings air from outside so this whole past couple of weeks we’ve really been just not turning it on or keeping it off.”
© 2026 Television,
