California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on June 20 after the Los Angeles mayor asked for state disaster support in the wake of an ongoing warehouse fire that continues to burn more than three days after it started on June 17.

“California is mobilizing to support Los Angeles as firefighters and emergency personnel continue their work to contain this fire and protect surrounding communities,” Newsom said in a statement.

The state has predeployed public health and emergency resources to the city, including 5.5 million N95 masks and commercial-grade air purifiers for community facilities.

“We are coordinating closely with our local partners, deploying specialized expertise, and pre-positioning critical supplies so communities have the support they need both now and throughout recovery,” Newsom said.

Caroline Thomas Jacobs, director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, said in a statement that her agency is “working side-by-side with the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Emergency Management Department, Los Angeles Fire Department, and ... regional partners to ensure they have the resources, information, and support necessary to respond to this incident.”

“The State of Emergency allows us to further streamline coordination efforts and leverage additional state capabilities as needed,” she said. “Our focus remains on protecting communities and supporting locally led response operations.”

The state is also assisting with “enhanced air quality monitoring and technical support resources,” Newsom’s office said.

Smoke is still emanating from the fire at the warehouse, which first responders are struggling to completely extinguish because of a lack of visibility inside the massive cold-storage facility in Boyle Heights—located just five miles southeast of downtown LA.

According to an update earlier on June 20 from Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Jaime Moore, the risk from hazardous materials at the warehouse has been contained.

The damaged facility connects food products to approximately 10 million people, according to Lineage Logistics, the private owner of the supply chain hub.

Local news stations showed smoke billowing from the burning roof of the 491,000-square-foot warehouse, where it is believed to have started at about 2:30 p.m. on June 17. The roof of the facility is covered in solar panels.

The roof fire was extinguished within six hours, but firefighters are still struggling to gain entry to parts of the interior because of a buildup of thick smoke.

“We have 85 million pounds of frozen food inside of this facility and the way the building has been laid out, it’s very difficult for us to get in there because there’s zero visibility inside,” Moore said. “Our firefighters are not able to just go in there and start moving pallets.”

Earlier on June 20, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the city needed state assistance to safely dispose of the millions of pounds of spoiling biowaste in a way that will avert a major environmental disaster.

Lineage Logistics said that the cause of the fire has still “not been determined.”

“We are working closely with local officials to assist in all investigations and remediations of the fire and will continue to do so as we cleanup once the site is safe for entry,” its statement read.

No workers at the warehouse were injured during the fire.

A Complex Incident

The Los Angeles Fire Department said in an update at 8 p.m. on June 20 that water dumps from the air have concluded for the night and that ground crews will remain actively engaged in suppressing the fire with the assistance of the department’s structural firefighting robot.

The department said that because of the large volumes of water dropped on the warehouse, firefighters have observed “areas of wall instability” at the warehouse, and the fire continues to produce significant smoke.

“This remains a complex, long-duration incident that will require sustained operations,” it stated.

Earlier in the day on June 20, the department said that over the previous three days, with the changing wind, the smell of smoke from the fire had spread to most of the city. Residents, particularly individuals with sensitivity to smoke, have been encouraged to limit their exposure.

Shelter-in-place notices were issued on June 17 for neighborhoods immediately surrounding the fire because of the hazardous burn and heavy black smoke. That was lifted later in the evening after the initial roof fire containment, only to be reinstated on June 18 after the fire flared up with a change in wind direction.

It was lifted again on the morning of June 19, although a smoke advisory remains in place for particle pollution from the drifting plume.

“As firefighting efforts progress, smoke may continue to affect air quality throughout the region,” the South Coast Air Quality Management District said in an update on June 20. “PM2.5 levels may increase overnight as winds die down. On Sunday morning, a change in wind direction may push smoke towards Southeast LA County. If the fire is still producing a significant amount of smoke on Sunday afternoon, it will continue to impact Central and East Los Angeles.”