Los Angeles residents were urged to stay indoors Saturday as thick smoke from a massive warehouse fire continued to blanket large parts of the city – prompting Mayor Karen Bass to declare a local emergency and officials to warn of a growing biohazard threat from millions of pounds of rotting food.

The fire broke out Wednesday at the Lineage Logistics cold-storage facility in Boyle Heights and quickly escalated into a hazardous materials incident after firefighters discovered an ammonia leak.

Although crews contained the flames and later neutralized the chemical threat, the fire reignited Thursday and flared up again Friday as shifting winds pushed flames deeper into the sprawling facility.

By Saturday morning, smoke from the stubborn fire had spread across much of Los Angeles, with residents from downtown to surrounding communities complaining about strong odors and hazy skies.

The Los Angeles Fire Department urged people to remain indoors, keep windows closed and use air conditioning or HVAC systems in recirculation mode rather than bringing outside air into their homes.

“These products of combustion are just not good for anybody to breathe, period,” an LAFD spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that most of the city should expect to smell the fire.

Smoke from the blaze drifted over downtown Los Angeles, while air quality readings in Echo Park, Silver Lake and Hollywood reached unhealthy levels Saturday.

Officials stressed that extensive air monitoring has not detected hazardous chemicals in the smoke despite concerns surrounding the facility.

“From the beginning, we never found any hazardous materials within that smoke,” LAFD Capt. Branden Silverman said Friday. “Although no smoke is good smoke. You don’t want to breathe smoke if you can avoid it whatsoever.”

Silverman said firefighters’ aggressive tactics have actually contributed to the increased volume of visible smoke as crews work to extinguish hot spots buried beneath collapsed debris and thousands of rooftop solar panels.

The challenge facing firefighters has grown even more complicated because the facility’s refrigeration systems were shut down during the incident, leaving an estimated 85 million pounds of meat, fish and grain products to spoil inside.

“The food’s not savable, unfortunately,” LAFD Chief Jaime Moore said during a Saturday press conference. “What we’re dealing with now is 85 million pounds of food that’s about to go bad and to spoil… It’s a biohazard emergency and that’s why we’ve called out to the state.”

Bass issued a Declaration of Local Emergency on Saturday, a move aimed at unlocking additional resources and potentially expediting state and federal assistance.

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“While the LAFD continues making progress, this is a major, multi-jurisdictional incident,” Bass said in a statement Saturday afternoon. “I’m issuing an emergency declaration to ensure the city has the resources it needs as this operation continues and to keep the community safe.”

Officials have opened 24-hour smoke relief centers for affected residents as air-quality warnings remain in effect through at least Sunday.

Fire officials warned the incident is far from over.

The fire continues to burn beneath structural debris in areas firefighters cannot safely access, and authorities are still developing plans to remove thousands of tons of spoiled food once conditions allow crews to enter the building.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, though officials said arson investigators are on scene.

The fire department believes the blaze could continue smoldering for days — and possibly weeks.