Burned Salon Plans To Reopen At New Location
CITRUS HEIGHTS (CBS13) -- Students at Hoss Lee Academy beauty school thought their dreams had gone up in the flames that ripped through a Citrus Heights shopping center on Monday.
"Literally within two minutes all the walls crashed and everything was lit up with fire," one student told CBS13's Checkey Beckford a day after the blaze. "Lot of girls were just about to graduate within a week of it and now we don't have a salon.
The 100 students at the school lost even the basic tools of their trade.
"We lost all of our sheers, cutters, everything we need to do business," another student said. "They can cost anywhere from $200 to several thousand dollars."
For many the school represented a chance at a better future.
"I'm trying to start my life over again," a student said. "I have three kids to support and I'm not even halfway through the program.
But the academy owner, John Lockamy, has vowed to reopen quickly.
Their landlord helped them move into a bigger, vacant salon just half a mile from the charred remnants of their old one. They plan to reopen on Monday.
"A lot of our suppliers have been very gracious in donating supplies for our students to use," Lockamy said.
A bright spot of generosity in what was a dark day in this school's history.
"We're very sad to see it go, but we will rebuild and we'll make something bigger and better," Lockamy said.
