A dramatic fire involving solar panels erupted at a cold-storage facility in Los Angeles, sending a massive black column of smoke into the air on Wednesday afternoon.

The inferno was reported a bit after 2:30 p.m. in the Boyle Heights area in the 1400 block of South Los Palos Street.

Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters were initially in offensive mode and for a time seemed to have gotten the upper hand on the flames. The fire later flared up in a major way, however, sending the firefighters into defensive mode.

A shelter-in-place order was issued for areas near the fire due to hazardous materials. Residents were advised to close windows and doors.

“All units were called off the roof and out of the interior,” the LAFD said in a statement. A shelter-in-place order was issued for the immediate area surrounding the building due to hazardous materials.