‘Slap in the face’: LA mayor decries bid to rebuild burnt-out warehouse before cleanup is done

Spoilt food smelling like ‘dead body’ plagues residents after weeklong fire, yet company asks permission to rebuild One month after a huge fire ravaged a Los Angeles warehouse and doomed neighbors to a persistent, thick stench of rotting food, the facility’s owners have filed applications to rebuild. That request to restore the warehouse – which residents called a “ticking bomb” after a similar fire at the building in 2024 – was publicly criticized by the Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, in a post on social media earlier this week. Continue reading...

Sophie Sullivan in Los Angeles · Thu, Jul 30, 2026, 6:00 AM
California | The Guardian

‘Slap in the face’: LA mayor decries bid to rebuild burnt-out warehouse before cleanup is done

Spoilt food smelling like ‘dead body’ plagues residents after weeklong fire, yet company asks permission to rebuild

One month after a huge fire ravaged a Los Angeles warehouse and doomed neighbors to a persistent, thick stench of rotting food, the facility’s owners have filed applications to rebuild.

That request to restore the warehouse – which residents called a “ticking bomb” after a similar fire at the building in 2024 – was publicly criticized by the Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, in a post on social media earlier this week.

This page shows an excerpt; reporting belongs to the original publisher. Some images or embeds may be omitted compared with the live article.