In Southern California we talk a lot of about wildfires, but the resulting smoke doesn’t just come from wildlands. It can also come from an urban conflagration: A large, uncontrollable fire that spreads rapidly through a densely populated area, fueled by man-made structures. 


Such was the case with the June 17th warehouse fire in Boyle Heights. While most of the fire was contained to the Lineage warehouse where it started, the fire created an environmental crisis that sent incredibly high levels of smoke and soot into the air, posting higher pollution levels than some of the worst days of the Palisades and Eaton Fires in 2025. And when the fire was out, the rotting food created horrible smells and attracted vermin to the site.

Recognizing the scope of the disaster early on, Breathe Southern California jumped in to help the communities suffering from poor air quality due to the smoke.

We distributed more than 4,600 air purifiers and 2,000 KN-95 masks to families living in the area. These included many families whose children have asthma, seniors have COPD, and others who have vulnerable immune systems. We will continue to support the community in the months ahead.  

For even if a fire doesn’t burn many buildings or affect a large area, the smoke can harm many more people as it travels to other communities, and the air pollution is a threat to public health.  



The smoke from major fires – wildfires or otherwise - has been a growing problem across the continent. In July, smoke from Canadian wildfires spread

unhealthy air across the Northern U.S. to the East Coast creating air quality

emergencies in many major cities and towns. And elsewhere, there have been large wildfires this year in Oklahoma, Kansas, Oregon, Texas, Idaho, Colorado, Utah, Nebraska, and Washington State. 

Many of these fires are either caused or exacerbated by climate change and the warmer conditions that lead to extreme dryness in forests and urban landscaping. Dry fuel burns faster, intensifying the fires and leading to larger and more damaging blazes. 

With continued dry conditions, we could see a repeat of 2025. In order to mitigate and prevent a public health crisis, communities across Southern California need to be prepared for major fires, and not just the threat of the flames but also the threat posed by the smoke. 

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