Cold storage warehouse operator Lineage is suing Altus Power, the company that operated a solar array on the building’s roof, alleging that Altus' negligence was to blame for the fire that ripped through the Boyle Heights warehouse and burned for a week in June.
"The record is clear: this was a solar fire," Lineage said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. "Cold storage is not a risk to communities — it is an essential service that lowers food costs, expands food access and creates jobs."
The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Thursday and also names as a defendant Pearce Services LLC, a contractor that worked on the solar panels.
"Pearce Services disputes Lineage’s allegations that Pearce caused the warehouse fire. Investigation into the fire’s cause, origin, and reasons for its spread remains ongoing, and it is premature for anyone to draw conclusions," a Pearce spokesperson told Bisnow in an emailed statement. Pearce Services is a subsidiary of CBRE.
Altus Power also pushed back against claims that it was responsible for the fire.
“Lineage’s statement is riddled with misinformation in a blatant attempt to deflect blame for their role in this matter, including any damage caused by the release of substances from the warehouse, not the solar panel,” a spokesperson for Los Palos Street Operating, a subsidiary of Altus Power, told the Los Angeles Times.
Altus Power went public in 2021 through a merger with a CBRE-sponsored special purpose acquisition company. Altus went private in a 2025 transaction with TPG.
Lineage's lawsuit claims that it requested Altus and Pearce not reenergize the solar panels until specific safety tests could be done on them, but both companies did so anyway. The cold storage REIT also said that it is now mired in litigation on multiple fronts and estimates the fire will cost it more than $1B, all told.
The massive, multiday fire caused health hazards and prompted officials to declare state and local emergencies. After the flames were out, the spoiled food in the facility drew rats and swarms of flies to the neighborhood for weeks. Residents said businesses and their daily lives were immensely impacted.
“We can’t run away from it, it’s all around us,” a Boyle Heights resident told the LA Times in July.
Pending legislation was introduced in response to the fire and the conditions that followed that would allow communities to impose greater fines on operators that violate local rules, as well as require cold storage operators to maintain contingency funds to help support cleanup should a similar fire occur.
Contact Bianca Barragán at bianca.barragan@bisnow.com
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