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After months of investigation, the official cause of the Boyles Heights fire still remains undetermined according to the LAFD
Payton Zagacki
• 1 hour ago
After months of investigation, the cause of the Boyle Heights cold storage warehouse fire remains officially undetermined, but investigators found that the blaze started on the roof near a section of solar panels, the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) announced Tuesday. 
The department’s Arson Counter-Terrorism Section completed its investigation into the June 17 fire at Lineage Logistics. The LAFD determined an “electrical event” occurred near the origin of the fire on the roof of the building, but the cause still remains undetermined. 
“Since the specific cause of that electrical event could not be conclusively established, the incident remains classified as having an undetermined cause,” the LAFD said.
The full report stated, “Due to the complexity of the solar panel system, its associated electrical equipment, and the maintenance activities being performed at the time of the fire, I am not able to eliminate them as the potential cause of the fire.”
City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, who represents Boyle Heights, said the investigation’s conclusion was unsatisfactory.
“Determining what caused the Lineage fire matters — not only for accountability, but to help ensure a disaster like this does not happen again,” she said in a statement. “But LAFD’s finding that the cause remains undetermined does nothing to alleviate what Boyle Heights residents have endured and are still carrying: months of health concerns and disruption, along with unanswered questions about whether this site can safely operate again.”
The cleanup of the food storage facility was completed earlier this month, over two months after the fire. Lineage Logistics, the owner of the storage facility, was unable to meet the city-mandated cleanup deadlines. Over the course of the cleanup, more than 4,900 complaints about rotten, sour and garbage-like scents were sent to the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Air quality regulators issued 39 notices of violations from June 12 through Aug. 28, the agency said. 
Lineage Logistics filed a lawsuit against the operator of solar panels on the building’s rooftop in connection with the fire. In its lawsuit against Altus Power Inc. and contractor Pearce Services, which was filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Lineage claims the companies ignored safety warnings and caused the fire on the 500,000-square-foot warehouse rooftop.
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A representative of Los Palos Street Operating, a subsidiary of Altus, issued a statement saying the lawsuit was an attempt by Lineage to deflect responsibility for the blaze at the 500,000-square-foot facility that burned for eight days.
“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,” according to the statement.
The LAFD’s completed investigation does not identify a specific party as responsible for the electrical event.
“The Department’s thoughts remain with all those impacted by this deeply tragic incident,” Arson and Fire Investigation Chief Thomas Raymond said Tuesday.
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