Firefighters have been battling a fire at a cold storage facility in Boyle Heights for days, and as the flames are extinguished, the building’s structural integrity is becoming more and more of a concern.

The Los Angeles Fire Department said Saturday night that crews utilized a “large amount of water” on Saturday night after a day of both ground and aerial fire suppression efforts.  

With the fire having started Wednesday afternoon, Sunday morning marked the fifth straight day of drenching the burning 500,000-square-foot facility with solar panels on its roof in the 1400 block of South Los Palos Street.

The inundation of water means that the building’s walls, which have foam insulation inside of them, are constantly weakening.  

“Crews have identified areas of wall instability due to the significant volume of water being applied to the structure,” LAFD officials said Saturday night. “Smoke conditions are expected to continue evolving as weather conditions change and suppression efforts progress.” 

In addition to structural concerns, the massive plume of smoke that could be seen and smelled for miles across the Los Angeles area is causing air quality issues. Residents, especially those closer to the fire, are advised to stay indoors and limit outdoor activity if possible.

“The good news is, all of our air monitoring has shown that there are no additional toxic chemicals or hazards within that smoke other than normal structure fire smoke,” LAFD Captain Branden Silverman noted Saturday in a bit of good news. “Although no smoke is good smoke. You don’t want to breathe smoke if you can avoid it whatsoever.” 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has issued a State of Emergency for Boyle Heights due to the ongoing fire and related extinguishment efforts. 

“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 Saturday. “While local officials continue to lead this response, the State of California is prepared to help safeguard public health, support emergency operations, and assist impacted residents. 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.” 

Two shelter locations have been opened to support those affected by the fire at the Pecan Recreation Center (145 South Pecan Street) and City Terrace Park (1126 North Hazard Avenue).

As for the operation itself, the LAFD says they don’t know when the fire will be fully put out. Even after that’s done, officials said at a press conference Saturday that the next step would be to remove millions of pounds of spoiled food that was being stored inside the facility — a massive undertaking.

To add to that, the LAFD’s community alert from Saturday night concluded that the situation “remains a complex, long-duration incident that will require sustained operations.”

What started the blaze has not been determined, although there was a fire at the same location a couple of years ago.