News

UPDATE:
Humboldt Bay Fire evacuated a California Street apartment building owned by Floyd and Betty Squires of nearly a dozen people and rescued "a number of pets" from last night's fire at the property, one of 26 placed under a "receivership" by the courts to procure needed repairs.

The couple is currently in bankruptcy proceedings and has begun selling off several of their properties, including the California Street complex, which is bundled with an adjacent parcel for a total of 33 units and priced at $900,000, according to real estate listings from earlier this month.

Read more about the Squires’ ongoing legal proceedings here, here and here.

According to the HBF release, the fire began in an empty apartment and spread between floors of the two-story building. At least 11 tenants were displaced but no one was injured.

The cause of the fire has not been determined but “human cause” has not been ruled out. Damage was estimated at $75,000.

PREVIOUSLY:
At approximately 7:30 p.m., a three-alarm fire broke out in an apartment building on the 2900 block of California Street in Eureka. Multiple people have been evacuated and the Red Cross has been notified as they won’t be able to reoccupy it again tonight, according to Billy Reynolds at Humboldt Bay Fire.

California Street is blocked off.

According to Mark McKenna, our photographer on the scene, the fire appears to be mostly out and firefighters are checking for extensions between floors.
Read the HBF release below:

On 11/15/18 at 7:30 P.M. Humboldt Bay Fire responded to a reported Structure Fire on the 2900 block of California Street in Eureka.
Humboldt Bay Fire responded with 2 engines, 1 truck, 1 squad and 1 chief officer on the “First Alarm” assignment. The first arriving units found heavy smoke coming from the first floor of a large, two-story multi-unit apartment building. A “Second Alarm” was immediately requested for an additional two engines. There were multiple occupants still in the structure. On scene units simultaneously attacked the fire, evacuated the building, and ventilated the structure to improve conditions for occupants to get out of the building. As those initial resources were quickly committed to tasks at the scene, a “Third Alarm” was requested which generated a recall of off-duty Humboldt Bay Fire personnel to staff reserve apparatus.
Initially the fire began to spread between the floors in concealed spaces. Fire personnel gained control of the fire within 30 minutes. Personnel also evacuated several people and rescued a number of pets from the apartment building. City Ambulance was requested to the scene as a precaution. There were no injuries to civilians or fire personnel.
Humboldt Bay Fire wishes to thank its cooperating partners for their assistance. Arcata Fire Protection District provided coverage to Humboldt Bay Fire jurisdiction during the fire. The Eureka Police Department responded and provided traffic and crowd control at the scene. The Red Cross responded to coordinate sheltering of at least eleven tenants who were displaced. Pacific Gas and Electric secured the utilities to the structure.
The fire originated in a vacant apartment. The cause of the fire was undetermined. Investigators could not rule out human cause. The fire caused an estimated $75,000 worth of fire, smoke, and water damage.
Humboldt Bay Fire would like to remind everyone to have an evacuation plan and designated meeting place if they should ever have a fire.