By admin 
Nearly two weeks after a fire tore through a cold storage warehouse in Boyle Heights, neighbors say they are still dealing with the smell of rotting food, and that is just one of the ongoing problems.
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The cleanup and removal of debris has begun at the facility, but people who live and work nearby said the odor remains a problem, though some described it as improving.
The L.A. County Department of Public Health says emergency room visits nearby tripled during the fire.
“Well, it’s been very bad, very, very bad for all of us,” said Laura Preciado, a Boyle Heights resident.
Preciado said the smell is slowly fading but remains noticeable, especially earlier in the day.
“The smell, it’s going away little by little, but in the mornings it feels that it smells more,” she said.
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Brew Sting, an outdoor coffee stand at the corner of Los Palos Street and Olympic Boulevard, which is about a block from the burned-out cold storage facility, reopened after being closed for nearly a week.
“I think it’s clearing up. It’s been better,” said Jenette Aispuro, a Boyle Heights resident and Brew Sting customer. “They weren’t here for like a week. I missed these guys.”
Residents said the smell of rotting food from the facility was not as strong on Tuesday as it had been several days earlier.
Kevin Barreto, who lives in Boyle Heights, said he remains concerned about possible health effects after days of exposure.
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“I think we just hope and pray that it’s nothing bad, especially since all of us inhaled it for more than 10 days, you know,” Barreto said. “Like right now, I do still smell it. It’s probably rotting food from the warehouse. I don’t know, what can we do?”
Andrew Contreras, another Boyle Heights resident, said warehouse fires are an issue people in the area have had to learn to live with.
“We’re used to it in Boyle Heights, because if you look down Olympic that way, there’s how many warehouses that have been burned down already that didn’t get the same coverage, so to us, it’s like we’re used to it,” Contreras said.
New data from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health shows a spike in emergency room visits tied to the warehouse fire.
From June 17, the day the fire broke out, through June 25, there were three times the normal number of emergency room visits from patients living within 10 miles of the warehouse. The surge was attributed to complaints mentioning the fire or smoke inhalation.
On June 21, there was a one-day surge in patients who mentioned throat pain within five miles of the warehouse.
Health officials have given Lineage Logistics, the operator of the facility, until Monday to submit a plan on how they are going to clean up the mess.
In a recent update, Lineage Logistics said it has taken action by installing perimeter and internal misting systems to deal with the smell and by treating debris with deodorizers as it is removed from the facility. Lineage also said the debris is being transported out in sealed, watertight containers to mitigate odor or runoff.
In addition to smell concerns, the company said pest control is a priority. Lineage Logistics says it is working with Orkin and Signal Restoration Services to address pest issues.
An estimated 5,000 truckloads of debris need to be removed, so the company says it hired a traffic management contractor to develop a plan to avoid residential streets wherever possible.
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