EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
PROCLAMATION OF A STATE OF EMERGENCY
WHEREAS on June 17, 2026, a structural fire ignited in a large cold storage warehouse in the Boyle Heights neighborhood in the City of Los Angeles in Los Angeles County (“Palos Warehouse Fire”); and
WHEREAS the Palos Warehouse Fire involved a large commercial coldstorage facility that contained refrigeration systems, rooftop solar-panel infrastructure, and other industrial equipment; and
WHEREAS during firefighting operations, emergency responders encountered complex conditions, including hazardous materials such as ammonia, requiring a specialized response and air monitoring, as well as continued fire flare ups; and
WHEREAS the Palos Warehouse Fire generated a substantial smoke plume necessitating a shelter-in-place order, which has since been lifted, and smoke and particle pollution advisories throughout neighboring communities; and WHEREAS the cold-storage warehouse rooftop solar infrastructure, hazardous materials, and lithium-ion batteries on site, and approximately 85 million pounds of decaying food products contribute to an incident at the warehouse beyond the mitigation capabilities of traditional firefighting equipment and methods available to the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County; and
WHEREAS under the provisions of Government Code section 8558(b), I find conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property exist due to the Palos Warehouse Fire in Los Angeles County; and
WHEREAS under the provisions of Government Code section 8558(b), I find the conditions caused by the Palos Warehouse Fire, by reason of their magnitude, are or are likely to be beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of any single local government and require the combined forces of a mutual aid region or regions to appropriately respond; and
WHEREAS under the provisions of Government Code section 8625(c), I find that local authority is inadequate to cope with the magnitude of the extreme peril posed by the Palos Warehouse Fire; and
WHEREAS under the provisions of Government Code section 8571, I find that strict compliance with various statutes and regulations specified in this Proclamation would prevent, hinder, or delay the mitigation of the effects of the Palos Warehouse Fire in the City of Los Angeles.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GAVIN NEWSOM, Governor of the State of California, in accordance with the authority vested in me by the State Constitution and statutes, including the California Emergency Services Act, and in particular, Government Code section 8625, HEREBY PROCLAIM A STATE OF EMERGENCY to exist in Los Angeles County due to the Palos Warehouse Fire.
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:
1. All agencies of the state government utilize and employ state personnel, equipment, and facilities for the performance of any and all activities consistent with the direction of the Office of Emergency Services and the State Emergency Plan. Also, all residents are to obey the direction of emergency officials with regard to this emergency in order to protect their safety.
2. The Office of Emergency Services shall provide assistance to the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County, if appropriate, under the authority of the California Disaster Assistance Act, Government Code section 8680 et seq., and California Code of Regulations, Title 19, section 2900 et seq.
3. As necessary to assist local governments and for the protection of public health and the environment, state agencies shall enter into contracts to arrange for the procurement of materials, goods, and services necessary to quickly assist with the response to and recovery from the impacts of this emergency. Applicable provisions of the Government Code and the Public Contract Code, including but not limited to travel, advertising, and competitive bidding requirements, are suspended to the extent necessary to address the effects of this emergency.
4. The restrictions set forth in Penal Code section 396, which are automatically triggered upon proclamation of a state of emergency, are suspended, and no such restrictions are imposed, with respect to the Palos Warehouse Fire in Los Angeles County.
I FURTHER DIRECT that as soon as hereafter possible, this Proclamation be filed in the Office of the Secretary of State and that widespread publicity and notice be given of this Proclamation.
This Proclamation is not intended to, and does not, create any rights or benefits, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity, against the State of California, its agencies, departments, entities, officers, employees, or any other person.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have
hereunto set my hand and caused
the Great Seal of the State of
California to be affixed this 20th day
of June 2026.
________________________________
GAVIN NEWSOM
Governor of California
ATTEST:
________________________________
SHIRLEY N. WEBER, Ph.D.
Secretary of State