Boyle Heights fire expected to keep burning for days amid air quality warnings, schools relocating activities

Key Points:

• The Boyle Heights fire entered its sixth day, prompting several East Los Angeles schools to temporarily relocate activities to other campuses due to smoke and fumes from the ongoing structure fire on Los Palos Street.
• The Los Angeles Fire Department reported that while some exterior walls have been removed to access the fire, unstable conditions from the collapsed roof and building structure require a cautious firefighting approach, with smoke levels expected to intermittently increase as crews work.
• Air quality in Los Angeles County, the San Gabriel Valley, and northwest San Bernardino Valley has ranged from "unhealthy for sensitive groups" to "very unhealthy," leading to a state of emergency declaration by Mayor Karen Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom.
• The fire started Wednesday at a 500,000-square-foot commercial building operated by Lineage Logistics, with the company attributing the cause to solar array testing by third-party contractors on the roof.
• Firefighters are employing creative tactics, including water-dropping helicopters and heavy equipment, due to the building's size and the fire's location in hard-to-reach areas, with expectations to extinguish the fire by the end of the week.