'This crisis is not over.' Boyle Heights fire keeps burning as officials warn of polluted air

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With the Boyle Heights fire burning for a sixth straight day, here is an update on the latest conditions:Los Angeles Fire Chief Jaime Moore said he was hopeful that crews would extinguish the stubborn blaze burning inside a cold storage facility by the middle of the week and return the building to its operator, Lineage Logistics, on Friday.Firefighters continued their campaign to pull apart the structure and get at the flames hidden inside as additional crews arrived from across the region to assist with the fire battle on Monday.“Heavy equipment operators are systematically removing sections of the exterior walls, which is allowing our firefighters to direct water streams into previously inaccessible areas of the building and extinguish the remaining spots of fire,” said Moore.Crews are using water cannons to blast about 12,000 gallons of water per minute at pallets of products that are burning on 65-foot-tall, 600-foot-long metal racks inside the storage facility, he said.Officials say less smoke is coming from the fire zone, but it is still a source of bad air in the region.

Moore said fire activity continued to decrease throughout Monday and that smoke conditions in surrounding areas had “improved significantly.” L.A.County Health Officer Muntu Davis said air quality had varied over the course of the incident.“Right now in some areas that were unhealthy yesterday, they’re good, or they’re moderate, and in other areas they’re still very unhealthy,” he said Monday afternoon.

He recommended residents refer to the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s online map for the most up-to-date information on air quality in their area.The South Coast AQMD extended a Particle Pollution Advisory until 12:30 p.m.Tuesday.

It covers a large swath of central Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley.Residents in the area remained concerned about health effects.“I wan...