Small businesses and private nonprofit corporations affected by the recent cold-storage warehouse fire in Boyle Heights can start applying for low-interest federal disaster loans.
The U.S. Small Business Administration approved a request from state officials for a disaster declaration to enable the loan program, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday.
“The Boyle Heights community has endured tremendous disruption, and we moved quickly to bring every available resource to bear,” Newsom said in a statement. “These loans will help local businesses and nonprofits meet essential costs, retain workers, and move forward as the community recovers.”
The SBA’s disaster declaration followed an Aug. 10 request from the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
“Recovery depends on getting practical assistance to communities as quickly as possible,” Cal OES Director Caroline Thomas Jacobs said in a statement. “Cal OES requested this declaration so affected businesses and nonprofits can access additional support to meet essential costs and continue serving the Boyle Heights community. We will continue working with Los Angeles and our federal partners to connect eligible organizations with the resources they need to recover.”
Loans can go as high as $2 million with interest rates as low as 4% for businesses and 3.625% for nonprofits and with terms of up to 30 years. Interest does not accrue, and repayment starts 12 months after the initial loan disbursement. SBA officials determine eligibility and set loan amounts and terms based on an applicant’s specific financial situation.
The SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans provide working capital and are available even if a business or nonprofit did not sustain physical damage. Loan funds may pay fixed debts, payroll expenses, accounts payable and other costs that could not be paid as a result of the fire.
Prospective loan applicants can schedule appointments with the SBA online at appointment.sba.gov. The deadline to apply is May 14, 2027.
Local offices for appointments are:
East LA/Boyle Heights Business Source Center, 1780 E. First St. in Los Angeles, which is open Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m.-2 p.m.; and
East LA Entrepreneur Center or Centro Maravilla, 4716 E. Cesar Chavez Ave., Building B in Los Angeles, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Businesses and nonprofits can apply online at sba.gov/disaster, by calling the SBA Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 or emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.
Work to remove the tons of rotting food stored at the destroyed warehouse continued Wednesday, with the company announcing Tuesday that nearly all the bulk food waste at the facility at 1400 Los Palos St. has been removed. The massive blaze that started June 17 and burned for seven days caused a persistent stench of rotting food and pest problems that disrupted the adjacent neighborhood.
Lineage Logistics Inc., the company that runs the cold-storage facility, had not completed the food cleanup by last Friday’s deadline cited by Los Angeles officials. The company, however, claimed Mayor Karen Bass’ 45-day deadline does not expire until later this week.
“The final stretch of food waste removal is the most complex and we continue to prioritize both speed and safety,” according to Lineage on Tuesday. “What remains is loose food product lodged within a six-story rack system spanning 40 miles of shelving — much in areas where heavy equipment cannot reach. Workers in full protective gear are climbing into racks more than six stories high to manually push product down. Others clear it bay by bay from the floor.”
Company representatives said they have already started the next phase of the cleanup — “proactive decontamination and cleaning in parallel with removing the remaining loose debris, including power washing, disinfecting, detailing and deodorizing. Our focus remains on fully remediating the site to eliminate odor impacts on the surrounding community.”
Bass has been critical of the company during the cleanup for allegedly failing to make good on its pledge to speed up the effort.
“Lineage is a multibillion-dollar company with the resources to meet the 45-day deadline I set,” Bass said in a statement last week. “They have indicated that they will not meet it (Aug. 14). Meanwhile, the people of Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles continue to live with the consequences. Families are still dealing with horrific odors and the constant uncertainty of when this nightmare will end.”
More information on Lineage’s cleanup work is on Lineage’s website via tinyurl.com/3e7xmyvk.
