Fire engulfs solar-panel-covered warehouse in LA, prompting shelter-in-place order as ammonia leaks

Warehouse fire breaks out in Boyle Heights

A fire erupted just after 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at Lineage's cold storage warehouse in Boyle Heights, a district just east of downtown Los Angeles. The facility spans 491,000 square feet and was built in 2018, according to fire officials. Its roof was covered in solar panels, which rapidly spread the flames and produced a thick column of black smoke that loomed over the city during the afternoon commute. The Los Angeles Fire Department and county hazmat teams sent about 110 personnel to the scene.

“I urge everyone in the impacted area to get indoors immediately, close windows and doors, turn off air conditioning, and avoid unnecessary travel to the area.”

Ammonia leak triggers shelter-in-place order

As firefighters fought the blaze, a pressurized ammonia line ruptured, releasing toxic gas. Cold storage facilities commonly use ammonia as a refrigerant because it is cost-effective, but it is both flammable and hazardous to breathe. City officials ordered thousands of residents to shelter in place: close all windows and doors, shut off air conditioning, and stay inside. The same warehouse had caught fire once before, in August 2024, but that blaze was extinguished in 48 minutes with far less damage.

“At some point, an ammonia line was compromised and we had a large, pressurized off-gassing of ammonia.”

Firefighters retreat, helicopters called in

Firefighters initially attempted to douse the flames from the roof itself, but the ammonia leak forced them to withdraw. "The amount of fire that they had was overrunning the amount of water we were able to put on it and our firefighters had to evacuate the area for a few minutes there while it was off-gassing," Moore told NBC News 4. With the roof too dangerous to approach, the city took the unusual step of deploying at least three helicopters to drop water from above. More than half a dozen air drops were made in an effort to contain the blaze.

Containment and lingering concerns

By late afternoon, the roof fire was largely under control, but the building's roof began to sag, and officials worried about the possibility of lithium-ion batteries stored with the solar panels. Air quality monitoring continued as a precaution. LAFD spokesperson Jennifer Middleton later said the ammonia danger had dissipated. No injuries were reported. Lineage, which markets its cold-storage services to companies using the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

“the danger has dissipated”