California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a state of emergency on Saturday in response to the fire.
“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 news release. “While local officials continue to lead this response, the State of California is prepared to safeguard public health, support emergency operations, and assist impacted residents.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also issued a Declaration of Local Emergency on Saturday.
“This is a major, multi-jurisdictional incident. I’m issuing an emergency declaration to ensure the City has the resources it needs as this operation continues and to keep the community safe,” said Mayor Bass in a statement.
“The City and County have opened spaces for families seeking relief from the smoke, and we will continue working around the clock and doing everything possible to put this fire out completely.”
The site is used by Lineage, a cold storage and logistics company, which said it would donate $2 million to the nonprofit California Community Foundation to help those impacted by the fire.
“Lineage’s top priority is the health and safety of our team members, partners, and the communities in which we live and operate,” the company said. “We are also continuing to work with local officials on providing air purifiers, food and other resources to the community,” it added.
The company said in a statement it did not own the warehouse. “We are the tenant-operator of the warehouse building and lease the roof to a third-party solar company, which is responsible for operating and maintaining the array. We believe the fire originated on the roof on Wednesday while the company’s subcontractors were servicing the solar array,” it said.
No official cause or investigation into the fire’s start has yet begun.
