Raquel Román, the executive director of Proyecto Pastoral with Dolores Mission in Boyle Heights, was leaving a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday, June 17, when she looked up to see a black ball of smoke. It looked like a bomb had gone off.
“It was horrible to see it,” Román said. “I hadn’t seen anything like that before.”
What Román was seeing was a 500,000 square-foot warehouse in Boyle Heights that went on to burn for more than a week, leading many to shelter in place and endure the effects of smoke inhalation and other hazards.
Proyecto Pastoral was one of several Catholic groups and parishes that sprang into action to help affected residents. First, there was the need to deal with the health effects of the heavy smoke, then experiencing the stench of millions of pounds of rotting food that had been stored in the warehouse’s cold storage, operated by the company, Lineage.
When the smoke was at its worst, Román said her team sprang into action, ordering thousands of dollars’ worth of air purifiers and P100 respirator masks. The next day, they went out and delivered supplies to the most vulnerable: the elderly and families of children with asthma.
At many of the affected homes, the conditions were almost unbearable, Román said.
“Air quality was different for everyone, but when we got to the streets closer to the fire, it was just smoke, like smog,” Román said. “I don't think I understood how people were still staying there. We were there for a little bit, and you know, going in and out of our car, and our clothes were smelling.”
Proyecta Pastoral spent the rest of the week distributing purifiers, masks, food, and other items at its Boyle Heights location.
Adding to the confusion of the fire was that it took place in Boyle Heights, but also largely affected the nearby cities of Commerce and unincorporated East Los Angeles. So while many were offering help, people didn’t know who to turn to: the City of Los Angeles, or Los Angeles County?
“I think that’s been one of the biggest frustrations I’ve heard from people,” Román said.
A few miles away at Our Lady of Victory Church in East LA, when the fire first started, the smoke was so heavy it forced the parish to cancel its weekly Holy Hour adoration service. After having Masses on Sunday, which were less attended because the smoke forced so many to stay away or indoors, a representative from LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis’ office approached Father Alexander Hernandez, pastor at Our Lady of Victory, about distributing air purifiers and other resources at the parish.
For the next few days, hundreds lined up at the parish, still enveloped in smoke, to receive air purifiers, masks and more.
Hernandez said that no matter the suffering, he wants his parishioners and those in the community to know that his parish is a place of solace.
“The church is always open for them,” Hernandez said. “We’re a community. We have one another and we’re walking along with each other.”
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, although in a statement on its website, Lineage believed it originated with the solar panels on the warehouse roof. Although several states of emergency were declared by local and state officials, and cleanup continues, the aftermath of the fire is causing many to reconsider the environmental impacts of the area, especially in Eastside neighborhoods, which have a history of pollution and environmental hazards.
“In Boyle Heights, we are blocked in by five different freeways, so air quality is not the best,” Román said. “I think this is an opportunity for us to maybe put some policy in place in terms of what kind of factories are in neighborhoods where housing.”
After a year of ICE immigration raids and inflation, the warehouse fire was another gut-punch of adversity to a community still suffering, but leaders are trying to sustain hope through serving others.
“This is just one other thing that our community has gone through, and so I would just ask for investment, for empathy, for coming together,” Román said. “People deserve to live in a place where they can breathe, and not be afraid to open their window, to open their door.
“So many people want to help, and I think that’s an important piece to remember, even in the darkest moments. That we’re not alone. There’s many people who get moved by wanting to serve others.”
