The Brief

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

For weeks, the Boyle Heights cold-storage warehouse fire has been known simply as the Lineage fire. It’s a label that leaves out a key detail: Lineage Logistics doesn’t own the warehouse. It leases it. 

The building belongs to Chill Build Los Angeles I LLC, one of several entities associated with Indianapolis-area developer Gary Edwards. While Lineage has been the public face of the cleanup, Chill Build has largely remained out of public view. 

In its first statement since the fire, the company confirmed with The LA Local it has met with regulators, spent millions on the response and believes responsibility for repair and recovery efforts rests with Lineage.

“Lineage Logistics is the lessee of the entire property. They are responsible for all aspects of maintaining and repairing the facility. Lineage Logistics is in charge of the recovery efforts, communicating with residents, and reporting progress directly to city and county regulators.” 

Lineage did not respond to questions before publication about its relationship with Chill Build, the division of responsibilities between companies involved or whether it coordinated public communications with the property owner.

Chill Build was on scene in the first 16 hours of the fire

Records obtained by The LA Local show senior city inspectors from the L.A. Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) met with Edwards on site on June 24, notifying him that the city would order removal of all fire-damaged portions of the building and require permits before any reconstruction. A photo from a follow-up visit on July 1 shows Edwards standing with inspectors outside the warehouse, the same day the city issued a second order requiring Chill Build to submit a full remediation and monitoring plan, along with weekly progress reports. 

LADBS acknowledged receiving The LA Local’s questions about why its enforcement orders were issued to Chill Build and how the agency determines whether property owners or tenants are responsible for code enforcement actions, but did not respond before publication.

Chill Build confirmed it met with the Los Angeles Fire Department multiple times at the property from June 18 to July 6. A spokesperson said the company provided $6.2 million in funding to retain specialty contractors, equipment and resources to help extinguish the fire. 

Senior LADBS inspectors Robert Chavez and Mark Rude speak with property owner Gary Edwards at Chill Build’s warehouse in Boyle Heights on July 1, 2026.

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Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety

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The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health has also opened three additional inspections tied to the fire, including one involving Chill Build, according to its public database. A Cal/OSHA spokesperson confirmed the inspections but said the agency could not share further detail while they remain open.

The owner of the warehouse

Chill Build purchased the property in March 2017 for $43 million before developing it into the roughly 500,000-square-foot cold-storage facility that now sits fire-damaged. 

A review of city permits list Chill Build Los Angeles as the owner throughout construction, and at least 10 permits name Victory Unlimited Construction LLC — another company owned by Edwards — as the contractor. 

One permit lists Chill Build as owner and applicant for the rooftop solar array, the same system linked to fires in both 2024 and again in June. 

A review of corporate filings shows Edwards listed as manager, member, agent, or governor of at least a dozen companies operating under the Chill Build name across multiple states. Chill Build Los Angeles did not comment further on Edwards’ relationship with the Chill Build entities.

Chill Build Los Angeles has also been named as a defendant in at least two lawsuits filed over the fire, alongside Lineage, Altus Power, and Pearce Services.

Has Chill Build engaged with the community?

While Chill Build says communication with residents is the responsibility of Lineage, the company said it donated $2 million to national nonprofit Baby2Baby’s Disaster Relief & Emergency Response Program on June 24, providing air purifiers, diapers, formula, wipes, children’s N95 masks, food and hygiene products to support impacted children and families. 

“Our commitment to the community then and now has been to contribute our time, expertise and resources to protecting the health and safety of the firefighters, first responders, and our neighbors in Boyle Heights and the surrounding communities,” the company told The LA Local. “We continue to maintain an active on-site presence supporting the safe cleanup and mitigation of environmental impacts, wherever and whenever needed.” 

But that outreach has not extended to local leaders. Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, whose district includes Boyle Heights, said the property owner should take a more public role as recovery efforts continue. Her office said it has not had direct conversations with representatives from Chill Build since the fire. 

“If an organization has responsibilities related to this property — whether as an owner, operator, contractor, or another responsible entity — it should be at the table,” Jurado’s office said in a statement. “Residents deserve direct answers, regular progress reports, supporting documentation, and the opportunity to ask questions of the people responsible for this recovery.”

Why responsibility for the fire isn’t straightforward 

Determining fault for the fire itself is complicated. Lineage has said it believes the blaze started while subcontractors Pearce Services tested a rooftop solar system owned by Altus Power. Pearce Services confirmed its crew was doing that rooftop work and Altus says the cause hasn’t been determined. Cal/OSHA has opened inspections naming Lineage, Pearce, Altus, Chill Build, and refrigeration contractor Chillest Industries. 

In its statement, Chill Build said Altus, its contractors and other service companies have contractual relationships solely with Lineage Logistics.

Susan Phillips, a Pitzer College professor who has tracked warehouse fires since 2021, said that kind of tangle is common. “All of these entities are trying to protect themselves financially,” she said. “It just gets to the point where everyone is accountable, and no one is accountable.”

Cold-storage warehouses are typically run under industrial leases that split maintenance, repair and operational duties between owner and tenant, with separate agreements sometimes covering rooftop solar or outside contractors. Attorney Gary Praglin, who handles environmental contamination cases, said responsibility usually flows from those lease terms — but landlords don’t get to opt out when there’s a public health risk next door.

“Landlords cannot turn a blind eye,” Praglin said. “The cleanup can result in further damage. Millions of pounds of rotten food, smelling up the area. A landlord can’t just let that happen because people are being exposed.”

Lineage has said it is racing to meet Mayor Karen Bass’ 45-day deadline to remove millions of pounds of spoiled food waste from the site. 

Los Angeles County will begin sending mail-in ballots starting this Thursday ahead of the Nov. 3 elections. Counties across the state have until next Monday, Oct. 5, to begin mailing out ballots.

In the June primary, nearly 82% of the total ballots cast in L.A. County were through vote-by-mail ballots.

State and local officials are encouraging people to vote early.

When can I turn in my ballot?

L.A. County elections officials say voters can turn in their ballots by mail as soon as they receive them. No postage is necessary.

They can also turn them in starting this week at official dropboxes across the county, which are often found at parks, community centers or libraries.

Voters can also turn them in or vote in person at the county’s Vote Centers, which L.A. County officials say will start to open on Oct. 24. Officials say all Vote Centers will be open by Halloween.

What about in Orange County?

Orange County officials say U.S. Postal Service officials are scheduled to pick up about 1.9 million ballots from the county elections office on Saturday and start delivering them on Monday, Oct. 5.

The Trump administration has tried to restrict mail-in ballots. Will my ballot be affected?

The California Secretary of State’s office says nothing has currently changed. The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month issued an injunction on President Trump’s executive order requiring states to turn in lists of voters and ordering the USPS to send mail-in ballots to the people on the approved lists.

"Voters will be able to cast their ballots without uncertainty, without hesitation, and without fear that their voices will be questioned or their ballots rejected," said Secretary of State Shirley Weber.

Los Angeles County is reporting the highest number of rabid bats on record, a to-date total of 69, officials said.

This year’s rabid bat count has already matched 2025’s total, according to the L.A. County Department of Public Health, which released the count Monday, marking World Rabies Day.

Health officials emphasized that rabid bats have been found all over the county "from suburban areas such as the San Fernando Valley to urban areas like downtown Los Angeles, in office buildings, parks, schools, businesses, and residential backyards."

That said, a large share of rabid bats — 68% of the 69 found so far — were in the Santa Clarita Valley, and they were mainly canyon bats, which are common in California.

When to be on high alert

Officials warned that a third of human encounters with rabid bats happened indoors, where the risk of exposure to the virus is higher.

Bat bites are small and can be hard to detect. Rabies can also be spread through scratches or other transfers of saliva.

“If you find a bat indoors or think you may have had contact with one, contact your medical provider or Public Health right away,” Dr. Muntu Davis, a Los Angeles County Health officer, said in a statement. “And remember, never touch a bat or any wild animals. Immediately report any bat found indoors, or outdoors if it appears sick, active during the day, unable to fly, or dead, to your local animal control.”

Who to call

Veterinary Public Health

Phone: 213-288-7060
Email: vet@ph.lacounty.gov
Website: publichealth.lacounty.gov/vet

*Call 211 to find your local animal control

What to know about rabies

Rabies in humans is treatable with a series of vaccines. Rabies is always fatal in animals, the county said in a release, so vaccinate your pets.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Sunday that tightens building rules for sites that store explosive chemicals, responding to an Orange County chemical incident that forced thousands of residents to evacuate Memorial Day weekend.

The law also adds the chemical methyl methacrylate to a state program that aims to prevent chemical disasters.

In May, CalMatters reported that California’s toughest accidental-release prevention rules do not cover the chemical in the tank at GKN Aerospace, a company that makes cockpits and windshields in Garden Grove. Weeks later Democratic state Sen. Tom Umberg of Santa Ana amended an existing bill with language that addressed that gap. Assembly committee and floor analyses noted CalMatters’ reporting. 

Had the chemical exploded, it “would have been perhaps the greatest catastrophe, certainly in the last several decades in California,” Umberg said at a June Assembly hearing.

Umberg’s original proposal would have set stronger standards for more types of explosive chemicals, but legislators narrowed it significantly in last-minute negotiations.

The final law bars building new facilities near homes and schools and requires backup cooling systems. It also strips an exemption from environmental review that facilities storing methyl methacrylate previously qualified for.

Garden Grove advocates call the bill a good step, but say it offers the community little immediate recourse, especially with GKN Aerospace planning to reopen by the end of September.

The law’s siting requirements apply to new facilities, not to existing ones like GKN’s Garden Grove plant.

Mai Do, research and policy manager for the Orange County advocacy group Harbor Institute for Immigrant and Economic Justice, said she hopes the state will do more to address the threat of toxic chemicals at existing facilities.

“This is a much larger fight than just what's happened in Garden Grove,” Do said. “What we see in terms of the Lineage fire and other industrial crises is that this is a problem that is affecting a lot of different communities”

In an interview with CalMatters, Umberg said the bill reflected a balancing act. “This is a net benefit for the state, a net benefit for the community,” he said.

Stronger rules for new facilities, not existing ones

Over Memorial Day weekend, residents learned of a problem with a tank storing methyl methacrylate at the GKN Aerospace facility. A crack in the tank released pressure and, along with efforts by emergency responders, averted disaster, but questions remained about what went wrong.

CalMatters reported in May that methyl methacrylate and other chemicals that could explode under certain conditions falls outside the California Accidental Release Program, which requires facilities to maintain detailed plans for preventing or responding to chemical leaks or explosions.

Rachel Tochterman, a spokesperson for Sen. Umberg, said the senator took note and initially proposed incorporating a broader category of reactive chemicals into the program.

But industry groups opposed the plan, arguing it was too broad without clearer evidence.

Dawn Koepke, a lobbyist for the California Manufacturers and Technology Association and the California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance, said she does not believe a regulatory gap exists that would justify incorporating more chemicals into the state’s accidental release regimen.

Facilities storing toxic chemicals are already heavily regulated under other federal and state laws, she said, including a requirement for plans to protect people from chemical releases.

Koepke said she worried that "jumping to conclusions and over-regulating" could affect "a wider array of facilities."

Tim Shestek, a lobbyist representing the American Chemistry Council and other groups, said in an email that Umberg’s original proposal would have affected “far more facilities, substances and sectors than were in the original scope.”

After amendments on the next-to-last day of the legislative session, nine industry groups stopped lobbying against the bill.

Most provisions of the law only apply to methyl methacrylate — the chemical involved in the Garden Grove incident. The bill adds it to the state’s accidental release program, requires facilities to maintain prevention and emergency-response plans, and closes the environmental-review exemption for new sites where the chemical is present.

Scrapped from the bill: a requirement to map reactive-chemical sites in CalEnviroScreen, a state program that identifies polluted communities.

GKN Aerospace plans to reopen 

Steve Carlin, senior vice president for GKN Aerospace programs, said the company has been working with regulators and independent experts “to safely reset the remainder of the facility with the appropriate oversight” work that has included inspections, upgrades to safety equipment, and additional monitoring. The company plans to reopen in the next few days.

The company also announced an additional $100 million program to pay residents and businesses that lost money during evacuations.

Lisa Fu, director of the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative, a worker-safety group, wants California to regulate hazardous chemicals more broadly.

“It's just unfortunate that it's a piecemeal thing,” said Lisa Fu, director of the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative. “Is it worth it to go piece by piece in terms of trying to ban certain chemicals? It makes the work harder for us, and you can see who's benefiting and who's not.”

Newsom also signed a pair of bills in response to the Lineage fire, a June cold storage fire in Los Angeles. The fire briefly prompted a shelter-in-place order over fears that toxic anhydrous ammonia had been released into the air.

The new laws raise the fines agencies can levy on companies that endanger health and safety. They also bar building permits for cold storage facilities that lack contingency funds or insurance to help communities in emergencies.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

California is now the second state to recognize the two main Muslim holidays as state holidays.

Eid ul Fitr is the festival marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, and Eid ul Adha is the festival honoring Abraham or Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son as a mark of his devotion to God. They join a state holiday list that also includes Lunar New Year and Diwali.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the change into law Monday. Washington first recognized the holidays in 2025.

Oussama Mokeddem, legislative and government affairs director at the California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told LAist the signing day is  “an exciting day for the California Muslim community and a big day for the American Muslim community at large.”

Muslims follow the lunar calendar, so the dates of the two festivals vary each year. Next year, Eid ul Fitr will likely fall on March 10 and Eid ul Adha on May 17.

Why it's important to Californians

The holiday recognition comes at a time when the community is facing “unwarranted and unjustified criticism,” Mokeddem said, which he cited as a reason for a May 2026 attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego. A recent Pew study also found that 42% of Americans believe Muslim Americans have a negative impact on the country.

Adam Khaja, an 11th grader at Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District, said the holiday recognition signals that  "you don't have to give up an important part of your identity to fully participate in Californian society."

" For a long time, immigrant and minority communities have sometimes felt pressure to leave parts of their identity at home in order to fit into American educational or industrial institutions," he said.

What does the holiday recognition mean?

California is home to more than 1 million Muslims, and with this law, state employees can use existing paid time off to celebrate the two holidays.

And for students in K-12 public schools, Mokeddem said the law does not mandate statewide time off, but local school districts can declare a district-wide day off if enough community members bring it up as a need.

He added that students can also cite state law when they are absent from school to celebrate the holiday.

Khaja said he will be advocating for his school district to give a district-wide day off.

"Eid has always been a huge part of our lives, but I think that the school calendar and district policies haven't always reflected that," he said.

He hopes his students will not be put in a situation now "to choose between going to school or fully participating in one of the most important days of their faith."

Muslim Women Professionals, a nonprofit, has templates on how to advocate for time off to celebrate Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Adha.