A neighborhood sheltering in place

Good morning. It’s Monday, June 22nd. As we saw over the weekend, winds are projected to blow smoke northwest from the Boyle Heights fire toward Downtown and the Hollywood Hills in the morning, before changing directions and pushing the smoke northeast into the San Gabriel Valley in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 70s, partly cloudy.

As a stubborn warehouse fire continues to send dark clouds of smoke wafting across much of Los Angeles County, residents of Boyle Heights and the surrounding neighborhood are getting confusing instructions — and many are scared and furious.

“This situation is out of control,” said Diana Rodriguez, 32, who lives a few blocks from the burning warehouse. Rodriguez is six months pregnant and also has a 10-year-old at home and said she has been hunkered down at home in the heat wondering when things will get better.

Authorities have said the warehouse, which holds 85 million pounds of frozen food, poses a firefighting challenge because it contains corrugated steel and massive amounts of dense foam. They warned that smoke could continue to increase at times over the next few days as they try to attack the blaze.

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado, who represents Boyle Heights, said she knows her constituents are worried and weary. “This has been an exhausting and scary few days,” she said Sunday in an Instagram live post.

L.A. Material’s Antonia Cereijido talked to residents trapped in their houses and scared by the plume that sometimes blots out the sun.

MONDAY: Testimony is expected to continue this week in the trial of Jonathan Rinderknecht, the man who allegedly sparked the Lachman fire, which later reignited into the deadly Palisades fire. 

TUESDAY:  The 2026 NBA Draft will be held over two days, beginning Tuesday. The Los Angeles Clippers have the fifth pick, their highest since 2009.