Stockton homeowners concerned after fire from railroad property damaged their homes
STOCKTON –- A fire left some homeowners in Stockton rummaging through the rubble of their homes and garages.
Now, the question is who is responsible for all the damage?
Stockton fire officials said they are still investigating what happened to spark a fire that damaged two homes and destroyed two outbuildings.
But, neighbors say encampments and tents used to blanket the area and they believe a homeless person sparked the fire.
Joel Peña is digging through what's left of his garage, now burnt to rubble.
"Things the kids used to like collecting," he said. "I lost my military uniforms."
Things considered priceless to Peña are now turned to ashes.
"I'm frustrated, I'm somewhat pissed off, I mean I'm still in shock," he said.
CBS13 was there when the fire was being put out on Wednesday afternoon.
Officials said it started behind these homes on Stanford Avenue, but the windy conditions and dry brush fueled the flames.
Peña said encampments were set up just on the other side of their backyard.
"Mostly homeless people, they have the gate down there, they leave it open," said Peña.
That gate now closed after this fire. But, Peña said it's not just the encampment issue.
Homeowners said this fire could've been prevented. The land behind their houses is owned by Union Pacific and they say it has not been taken care of for months.
"They know people live here, they should you know. It doesn't cost much to pay someone to get it done in one day," he said.
San Joaquin County confirmed with CBS13 the Fire Warden's Office received multiple complaints from homeowners earlier this May, and they determined the property to be a fire hazard.
On May 20, nine days before this fire, Union Pacific was given a final notice of abatement to take care of the growing vegetation.
Union Pacific sent CBS13 the following statement:
"Union Pacific is investigating if this fire occurred on UP property. Community members can notify Union Pacific of non-emergency incidents, including vegetation near UP tracks, on this web page: UP: Response Management Communication Center (RMCC). Our team is investigating this incident and the need for clean up around the area mentioned."
This is while Peña is left picking up the pieces.
"Movie collection, DVD collection, all gone," he said, peering into his destroyed garage.
San Joaquin County said after this fire, Union Pacific says they will send a team to finally get the vegetation back here taken care of.
