Food removed from Boyle Heights warehouse, but neighbors say the cleanup isn't over
Boyle Heights odors persist despite food cleanup
Rotting food was removed from the burned Boyle Heights warehouse, but neighbors say the cleanup isn't over.
LOS ANGELES - An enforcement team from air quality regulators walked through the burned Lineage warehouse in Boyle Heights on Saturday and confirmed that millions of pounds of rotting food are gone. After two months of odors, pests and frustration, neighbors say they are not ready to call the cleanup finished.
What we know:
Inspectors were at the site Saturday. Lineage is now working to disinfect the property.
Since mid-July, regulators have logged nearly 5,000 odor complaints and issued Lineage 38 violations.
A worker on the cleanup crew was hurt at the site Saturday afternoon and taken to the hospital. Lineage says the injury is not life-threatening.
Earlier in the day, the company said in a statement that the total cleanup is expected to cost more than $100 million.
Ana Barrera, who lives near the warehouse, said her son pulled a rat off the property minutes before she was interviewed. The family has found about a dozen rats in the past two months.
Edith Padilla, who lives on the same block, said she is still having a tough time sleeping.
What they're saying:
Barrera, speaking in Spanish, said, "No creo. Porque ahí están las ratas que. ¿Cómo se van a ir y dejar esa peste? Ahorita en la mañana y anoche estuvo bien fuerte." (English: "No, I don't believe it. The rats are still here, and the stench was very strong last night and this morning.")
Asked how many rats the family had found at the house, Barrera said, "Hemos encontrado tres aquí. Tres. Y mi vecina también tiene. Atrás andan las ratas también." (English: "We have found three here. Three. And my neighbor has them too. The rats are out back too.")
Padilla described what she wants once crews are gone: "I want everything is clean. I don't want no rat, no mosquitoes, no flies. I have a lot of flies over here."
Asked about plans to rebuild at the site, Barrera said, "Oh, no, no, no. Que se lleven eso para otro lado. Yo no quiero eso." (English: "Oh, no, no, no. Let them take it somewhere else. I don't want that.")
What's next:
Lineage has seven days to remove debris, power-wash and disinfect the damaged freezer.
The company has already submitted plans to rebuild. A council committee wants rebuilding permits held until the fire investigation is complete.