Newly obtained images offer views of the cleanup effort inside the Lineage Logistics warehouse nearly two months after a fire at the building in Boyle Heights.
The images, provided to NBCLA by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, show the interior of the cold food storage warehouse east of downtown Los Angeles, where crew are removing 85 million pounds of rotting food. The photos from health inspections in August were taken in the days leading up to the Aug. 14 deadline the city set for Lineage to finish removing the food waste.
They show debris, food, sludge and standing water inside the building.
Lineage Logistics officials and the city are at odds over when the clock started on that 45-day deadline. The company says they have about a week left to complete the cleanup.
In an emailed statement to NBC Los Angeles, Lineage contested the Friday deadline, saying its goal is to complete bulk food removal by Aug. 20.
“The 45-day cleanup clock began on July 7, the day the Los Angeles Fire Department ended its 24-hour fire watch at the site after persistent flare-ups made it unsafe to enter,” a Lineage spokesperson said Thursday night, in part. “That date is documented in every report we have submitted to the city and is the start date recognized by the South Coast AQMD.
Last Thursday, an update on Lineage’s website said its goal was to complete food removal by the end of this week, which would line up with the city’s deadline. When asked why the company hadn’t challenged Friday’s deadline until hours before, Lineage repeated that the start date of July 7 has been documented in its reports to the city.
An LA County Public Health report confirms “unsanitary or nuisance conditions” determined by an inspection conducted at the Lineage facility on Thursday. Robert Kovacik reports for the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 14, 2026.
On Thursday, 93% of the bulk food waste has been removed from the building, according to the company spokesperson. That figure was at 94% Saturday morning.
The executive order issued by the city did not provide details about what happens if the deadline is not met. Bass said she was “calling on our City lawyers to pursue civil litigation and all legal options for cost recovery and penalties and to put a lien on the property.”
Bass called the missed deadline “unacceptable,” adding that she will “hold Lineage accountable for every day that Boyle Heights residents are forced to breathe putrid air and deal with the flies and rats, because of the company’s negligence.”
Once the food waste is completely out of the warehouse, Lineage must conduct thorough power-washing and disinfection within seven days, according to an order approved by the South Coast Air Quality Management District earlier this month. The air regulatory board’s approval came after two days of meetings involving residents, many of whom expressed odor and health concerns, and representatives from Lineage Logistics.
The order requires Lineage to follow some 90 legally enforceable conditions to eliminate the foul odors coming from millions of pounds of food waste inside the facility. The company was also ordered to expedite the removal of rotting food.
The South Coast AQMD said that between July 12 and Aug. 5, it had received more than 4,200 odor complaints about the warehouse, and the agency issued 25 notices of violations to Lineage.
The company said earlier this week it is distributing more than 1,150 fly traps throughout the community to reduce the pest problem. Lineage Logistics had pledged to spend between $80 million and $100 million on cleanup efforts.
Lineage, the buildings’ tenant-operator, leases the rooftop to a third-party solar panel company that installed a solar array on top of the structure. The company has said it believes the fire started when the subcontractors were working on the solar panels.
The city also set deadlines for structural and construction debris removal within 90 days and final environmental clearance within 120 days.