LA Mayor Bass declares emergency to secure resources to help fight warehouse fire

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass declared an emergency on Saturday to ensure the city gets the resources it needs to combat the outbreak. large warehouse fire It sent huge clouds of smoke into the air.

“The city and county have opened up areas to families seeking relief from the smoke, and we will continue to work day and night and do everything possible to completely extinguish this fire,” Bass said in a news release announcing the emergency declaration.

Fire in a private workplace cold storage The clashes that started on Wednesday in the city’s Boyle Heights neighborhood led to shelter measures being taken in the area due to the risk of dangerous weather. Residents were told to close all windows, doors and vents, turn off air conditioning and bring people and pets indoors.

Los Angeles Fire Chief Jaime Moore said at a press conference that they had taken care of the hazmat aspect of the fire and are now working on biohazard issues.

“There are 85 million pounds of frozen food inside this facility, and because of the way the building is laid out, it’s very difficult for us to get in because there’s zero visibility inside,” Moore said. “There’s no way our firefighters can get in there and start moving pallets.”

The mayor’s declaration requests recovery assistance under the California Disaster Assistance Act. He also asked the state to accelerate access to resources and other assistance programs.

Bass said their main concern is the health and safety of people affected by the fire, so they are trying to provide the necessary assistance to remove toxic substances from the area and dispose of them in a way that will prevent a major environmental disaster.

“So it’s about prevention,” he said. “This is about protecting your public health.”

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