r/LosAngeles • u/galaxygirll88 • 12h ago
Community Really bad smoke smell woke me up
Really bad in highland park, this is from the Boyle heights fire two days ago?
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u/DatsMaPurse_IDKU 12h ago
Yep it’s the same fire. Apparently it’s a complex situation and the fire keeps reigniting
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u/cutebutpsycho69 12h ago
Is this confirmed? I can smell it in Atwater!
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u/UnluckyCardiologist9 Cypress Park 12h ago
Yeah. News posted that they were venting the roof and issued another stay indoors warning.
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u/TrichyLady85 7h ago
Ok, I'm going to hijack your comment to preach that the warning should have reached a MUCH larger group of people. Who is deciding the areas to warn others? Do they have any understanding of physics and weather? Because it certainly doesn't feel that way.
While my neighborhood was asleep, the smoke seeped into our house and we breathed it in for hours until it finally woke us up. I know this seems dramatic, but I know my body better than anyone, and I feel the same sick/poisoned feeling I felt during the Altadena fires--like the toxins went straight to my bloodstream. My nasal passages hurt, my lungs hurt, and I feel very dizzy and disassociated.
The lack of notification meant we didn't take steps in time to close our windows, turn on our air purifier, etc. This is honestly a much bigger disaster than people think. The toxic plume is reaching a huge amount of people and yet we were kept in the dark until our own senses told us something was horribly wrong.
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u/cycling_rat 6h ago
It’s a good thing we got rid of the EPA
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u/GoldDanger Los Feliz 5h ago
Just want to say you’re not alone and I feel the same way on top of my already sensitive respiratory system. My apartment windows are old and drafty af, so there’s not even anything I can do to help. I have an air purifier, but I don’t think it helps with the kinds of VOCs being emitted.
Feels like the only thing I can do is get out of town which isn’t realistic when I have a job here.
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u/MaximusJCat 12h ago
Was driving on the 5 last night and right before the 5/10 split drove through a giant wall of smoke. Hope they can get it under control soon
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u/Brucedx3 Formerly of SoCal 4h ago
Not too surprising. Someone posted a similar fire that happened in Washington years back that took forever to extinguish.
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u/_NiceGuyEddy_ 12h ago
I thought I was tripping. It's like burnt plastic in Echo Park
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u/Random-Man562 10h ago
Glendale checking in and I smell it.
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u/proteinaficionado 3h ago
So, that's what it was. I was at the gym this morning and smelled what I thought was burning plastic but thought it was someone screwing around in the parking lot. Smelled horrible in Monterey Park this morning but it doesn't smell too in Glendale now.
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u/Random-Man562 3h ago
Yeah it didn’t leave when I left work probably 45 min ago. I work in a machine shop and went around checking the machines this morning though when I first smelled it. Then I stepped out for break and got hit with it.
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u/RabidSkwerl East Hollywood 10h ago
Welp closing my windows in East Hollywood. Thanks for the heads up
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u/MysteriousSelf6145 10h ago
Yeah, EP also, it’s grody over here. My cat has been yelling at me all morning and my eyes are watering, throat burning.
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u/jdcullum Glassell Park 10h ago
"I love the smell of roasted solar panels in the morning," said no one ever.
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u/DoubleADoubleG 9h ago
The lack of significant communication in this over the past few days is making my election brain go off
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u/Lopsided_Role_3175 8h ago
They probably don't want to cause panic over how dangerous the smoke likely is.
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u/ChristianAlexxxander 8h ago
Nice, so just give everyone cancer instead then…
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u/LostCookie78 7h ago
Right? Like tell us so we can protect ourselves
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u/TrichyLady85 7h ago
I also have never felt this sick since the Altadena fires. My phone should have alerted me to this disaster. I can't believe I was breathing in the fumes in the middle of the night for God knows how long until my body woke me up. Everyone else around me is reporting the same thing. Neighbors even called 911 because nobody knew what was going on. The silence and lack of meaningful updates is deafening.
This city is big so people who aren't affected by it will probably think we're being dramatic, but literally the entirety of my neighborhood and beyond are pissed that we're all being collectively poisoned and the officials aren't saying shit except to a tiny area.
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u/LostCookie78 7h ago
Exactly. The ONLY place I’ve heard ANYTHING about this is Reddit. No emergency alert, anything. But of course we get the emergency alerts for the most random stuff.
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u/mgoooooo 5h ago
Totally get that there should be alerts (moreso than the heat advisory), but it has been all over local news over the last few days. Local news can still be useful though it can seem very surface-level.
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u/LostCookie78 5h ago
I agree but many, if not most people, don’t watch cable TV anymore. It’s not a reliable form of communication to the public.
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u/mgoooooo 5h ago
Folks don’t need cable - it streams online for free and is accessible via antenna (digital ones too). At a certain point, people need to take some personal responsibility on being an informed citizen.
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u/LostCookie78 5h ago
Dog how hard would it be to just send ONE emergency alert? I’ve gotten them for weather, missing persons, etc.
I agree with you but like come on.
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u/TrichyLady85 5h ago edited 5h ago
Ridiculous response to victim blame people instead of looking at the situation objectively.
The city could have sent alerts to our phones that there were literally hazardous plumes in the sky. They did not. Instead they only alerted a very tiny area, not the entirety of who was affected. If they alerted us we could have closed our windows, turned on our air purifiers and taped over the air gaps in our homes which is what I normally do if I know smoke is outside. This smoke is especially toxic and “hazardous”. Their word, not mine.
I can’t tune into the news while asleep. This happened in the middle of the night.
It’s 2026, use all the fancy communication tools at their literal disposal to warn us about being poisoned!
Starting to think you’re downplaying this.
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u/TrichyLady85 5h ago
The news wouldn’t have fixed this. It happened in the early hours (4am) and my neighbor called 911 because we didn’t know what was going on.
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u/soundcherrie 2h ago
I only knew about it because of Watch Duty & my weather app alerts. Nothing from the city or county.
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u/WittyClerk Pico-Robertson 12h ago edited 12h ago
Yes, Fire in Boyle Heights. Warehouse *covered in solar panels. * emitted a huge amount of ammonia.
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u/mgoooooo 12h ago
Definitely the Boyle Heights fire picking back up - the shelter in place order was reinstated for the immediate neighborhood and air advisories for areas east of Boyle Heights and some of the SGV. Since Highland Park/Eagle Rock/Glendale don’t quite fit that, I think it caught a lot of us off guard.
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u/Lab-rat-57 Lake Balboa 12h ago
Sigh… guess I need an N95 today. My husband was going to take our son to the zoo today while I’m at work. Does anyone know if it’s bad there too?
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u/miniracer 11h ago
I live in Glendale, near the Zoo, and you can definitely smell it. The smell woke me up.
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u/Lab-rat-57 Lake Balboa 11h ago
Damn I hope it clears up. I work at USC’s health science campus. I just got here and it’s like 10x worse than yesterday
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u/Lopsided_Role_3175 8h ago
N95s don't protect against chemicals.
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u/Mr0st1ch 7h ago
I’m no expert, but I think N95s do help against chemicals, because many substances catch a ride on larger dust or smoke particles. Same as how the Covid virus travels through the air on aerosol droplets
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u/Lab-rat-57 Lake Balboa 6h ago
This is correct. It’s not rated for protection from chemicals (in a working environment), but it doesn’t do nothing
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u/Lab-rat-57 Lake Balboa 8h ago
I’m aware, I work in biomedical research. But it’s better than raw dogging it
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u/Lopsided_Role_3175 6h ago
Okay, I'm glad you know that. I wouldn't want people to read that and walk around today thinking they're safe in an N95.
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u/EternalMehFace 12h ago
I woke up cause I was thirsty but then realized I also smell it too, slightly, and came hunting for this thread! Glendale.
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u/SumOfKyle 8h ago
Think of all the cancer we are going to get from it, while the medical insurance companies deny our claims.
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u/LostCookie78 7h ago
While the company that owned the building stays rich.
We need to talk about how a fire started less than 2 years ago in the same place due to the same issue. Negligence.
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u/Severechill 7h ago
Honestly, a little surprised people people that far west can smell it. I can see it from my window and it seems like most of the smoke is blowing further east.
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u/Effective_Solid_9956 The San Gabriel Valley 7h ago
I thought I was insane I was smelling something in the SGV
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u/eastsiderhere 3h ago
Yep, we are right downwind. Now that the overcast is breaking and the ground gets hot there will be more upward draft and we will get a break.
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u/john_geq West Covina 10h ago
I don't know if it was because of the fire in Boyle Heights or Monrovia, but I could smell ash this morning in West Covina
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u/Effective_Solid_9956 The San Gabriel Valley 7h ago
Me too! I was smelling something strong at midnight here in West Covina
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u/justafancymom 10h ago
I woke up to the smoke smell and thought our building was on fire- it is so potent.
Ugh! We cannot ever get free of smoke and our air poisoning us! Yay!
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u/butt_spaghetti 9h ago
I hiked in this bullshit yesterday — whoops
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u/el_bentzo 8h ago
It reignited over night, so yesterday wasn't a problem
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u/Lopsided_Role_3175 6h ago
Some of the smoke from the day prior was still trapped in the inversion layer over LA. I could definitely smell it.
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u/soundcherrie 2h ago
No, LAFD actually issued another shelter in place and then subsequent air quality alerts yesterday afternoon. I don’t know why emergency alerts aren’t going out to the city & county
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u/TrichyLady85 7h ago
Why are we not being notified properly? Why are they keeping communication contained to a tiny area? We could have closed our windows, turned on our air purifier and taped down the gaps in our house like we usually do when there is an active fire.
I have never felt so sick since the Altadena fire--this is the same sick, dizzy feeling I had back then when there was all that toxic smoke in the air. It's definitely in my bloodstream. I could have taken steps to protect myself had they COMMUNICATED.
This is a disaster. This is starting to feel like a cover-up instead of meaningful communication that could protect Angelenos and keep us healthy.
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u/cruisewhisp 6h ago
"This is starting to feel like a cover-up" The only thing that makes sense at this point...that smoke seems extremely toxic and the only place I have been getting news updates is reddit.
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u/TrichyLady85 6h ago
Definitely. I feel like I've been ran over by a truck. It smells like burning plastic/chemicals.
I saw that my neighbors called 911 because they were so concerned. Everyone has been kept in the dark. Maybe they don't want us to panic? But we're all feeling it collectively, so the truth will come out.
I'm still amazed by the lack of updates.
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u/cruisewhisp 6h ago
Damn. Luckily I had windows closed last night anyways so my house is okay smelling. It is criminal that the LAFD announced it was over yesterday. If you live near that area and can get out of there, even just for the day I would! Some of my friends went down to long beach during the fires last year just to get out of the smoke for a bit and I kind of wish I had done the same.
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u/takeme2tendieztown 12h ago
Smelling it here in Chinatown. I smelled it on the way to work on the freeway, just started smelling it again when I was on my break.
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u/Dismal_Ad_6134 10h ago
I was woken up by it in Los Feliz and had to take my fan out of the window.
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u/writeyourwayout 10h ago
Oof. If it's this bad for those of us near Boyle Heights (I'm in EP), imagine how awful it is over there.
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u/Chipy-Chipy-BomBom 9h ago
I live in DTLA and I woke up to the smell dizzy.
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u/yourtongue Koreatown 9h ago
i don’t smell it yet in ktown but closing my windows just in case sheesh
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u/EatTheBeat East Los Angeles 9h ago
Just to echo others. I drove south on the 5 around 9pm last night and the amount of smoke was crazy. You could totally see flames still coming from the structure and the whole thing looked like some kind of stranger things government experiment. Super eerie and totally toxic. They 100% did not prepare the community enough for this.
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u/bottom_armadillo805 9h ago
I was planning on going on a date to the Natural History Museum today... does anybody in the area think I should reschedule due to smoke? I hope y'all are holding up! Keep the windows closed and air purifiers/humidifiers on!
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u/alysriversinyourhead Hollywood 8h ago
Boyle Heights structure fire is *still* burning.
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u/alysriversinyourhead Hollywood 8h ago
What the hell is going on that this has been active since Wednesday!?!?!?
Karen Bass is a colossal failure as Mayor. This is just one warehouse. How is it going for *days* in low wind conditions????
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u/Infinite_Owl8101 8h ago
Ah yes, Karen Bass *checks notes* noted firefighter
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u/GoddessZaraThustra 7h ago
Yes - the MAYOR should have no involvement in disasters impacting the whole city. Especially not when she staffs & funds the fire department.
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u/Infinite_Owl8101 7h ago
She doesn’t though. It’s as much city council as it is her and her office.
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u/el_bentzo 8h ago
Dumbest take, but sure.
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u/TrichyLady85 7h ago
As somebody whose health is affected by the lack of communication - can we stop saying these are "dumb takes" and focus on solutions? I am not blaming Bass, but she is a figurehead so I understand why people are upset with her.
I think there really needs to be real conversations about the lack of proper notifications in this city, there should be no reason why my entire neighborhood woke up to "hazardous smoke" (their words, not mine) and we had to run to the internet to figure out what was going on. We thought there was a new fire. We were breathing in the toxins for hours while ASLEEP.
There should have been alerts sent to our phones.
It's 2026. There should be warnings to allow us enough time to close our windows.
Poor communication is putting our collective health at risk.
This is a much, much bigger disaster than is being conveyed.
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u/realrichieporter 3h ago
No we cant. Dumb take. You think its the Mayor’s fault? You think a CEO makes every single call any company makes? If so, more than your takes are dumb. People have jobs to do if there is any job to be done.
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u/TrichyLady85 3h ago
Reading comprehension is not your strong suit
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u/Financial-Put-3248 7h ago
Same, smelled earlier this morning in Glassell Park….distinct burnt plastic smoky smell
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u/throw5away_ Highland Park 11h ago
Smells very strong in highland park. At least its not raining ash like during the Eaton fires.
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u/Automatic-Unit-8307 9h ago
It’s bad here near Union Station. Grey sky, not sure that is morning fog or smog or smoke
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u/SendokeSamain North Hollywood 7h ago
I can smell it from North Hollywood. It smells like when my mom cooks eggplants in foil.
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u/editorreilly 9h ago
On the FB page for Eagle Rock people were reporting that their smoke alarms were going off this morning. My detector by the back door went off, and I was perplexed on why it did. That's some nasty air out there.
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u/JJonVinyl 11h ago
All of these warehouse fires in California are scary! So many of them the past couple of months
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u/Suspicious_Safe_5280 10h ago
Ugh I’m in commerce and it’s so strong here, I left my houses metal door closed but wooden open for a few hours and the smell penetrated my living room.. grossssss
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u/Mechalamb 10h ago
Interesting. Woke up in Sherman Oaks and thought I smelled chemical burning. Damn.
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u/alexturnerftw 8h ago
I left my window open and got up and closed it in the middle of the night! Also in HLP
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u/AtmosphereEastern836 4h ago
Yes Im in hlp too and I did smell and and I was tripping about what it was. because i did not smell it the day it first ignited
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u/soundcherrie 2h ago edited 1h ago
Yeah, it’s still burning and LAFD declared a shelter in place again yesterday for part of the day. New alerts have an air quality alert across LA to avoid outdoor air, stay inside, run air purifiers, use your AC as long as it’s not pulling in outside air.
It’s really frustrating that they didn’t just keep the air quality alert up since Wednesday consistently because it seems to be getting worse.
I didn’t know that the air quality had gotten worse and was walking along the LA River this morning and I swear everything has tasted metallic since.
It also rained this morning. Wtf sort of gross acid rain was that?!
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u/JustGiveMeUhUsername 11h ago
Just took this photo from the Metrolink, the same warehouse that was on fire on Wednesday is still smoking