Antelope neighbors fed up with nuisance house that recently caught fire
ANTELOPE — Neighbors in Sacramento County's Antelope area are fed up with suspected squatters.
A home on Country Run Way went up in flames on April 24, but now, neighbors are saying that the people causing the problems are returning to the burnt-out property.
Sacramento County Code Enforcement tagged the house as unsafe to occupy on April 25, a day after the fire. There is now a gate surrounding the gutted garage and garbage, but it appears little to no clean-up has happened.
"This is the kind of stuff that we deal with on a regular basis," said Ray Moore, who lives next door.
Hi, house was untouched by the fire, but the flames spread to the home on the other side. It's left a mother and her two teens in a hotel for the past two months.
Moore said rats, cockroaches and other critters have been crawling out of the house since and are plaguing the neighborhood. It has required him to purchase pest control.
The bigger concern neighbors now have is suspected squatters coming back.
"Just two days ago, I found one at the back of the house," Moore said. "I told him to get out."
Another neighbor captured someone sleeping on the sidewalk near the home earlier this week.
The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office said it has had four trespassing calls to the property since the fire and issued citations. Officers did not see any criminal drug activity.
Moore and other neighbors suspect otherwise.
"You name all the vagrancy you possibly can sitting at your next-door neighbor's house," Moore said.
So why has it been nearly two months since the fire but appears little to no clean-up has happened?
Sacramento County gave us this statement about the issue:
"Sacramento County Code Enforcement is actively working with the sheriff's office, the property owner, and the property owner's insurance company on the situation. the property owner was contacted Tuesday and was instructed to board up the property. Code Enforcement officers and law enforcement are visiting the property today to follow up on the situation. If the property has not been boarded up, Code Enforcement will do so. As far as leveling the property, the property owner's insurance company has been to the property to assess damages and is determining next steps."
On Thursday, there were still no boards on the property.
CBS13 reached out to the apparent homeowner, but the homeowner did not want to comment.
"Right now, I don't feel like anyone in this neighborhood feels protected or served," Moore said.
Code Enforcement said it will be out on Friday to put boards on the property.
Sacramento Metro Fire said it is still investigating the cause of the fire on April 24.
Sacramento County said neighbors should report any illegal activity, such as trespassing, to the sheriff's office immediately by calling 916-874-5115 for non-emergencies, and 911 for active emergencies.
