A two-alarm grass fire near the junction of state Highway 4 and Interstate Highway 680 in Pacheco spread into a nearby storage facility Tuesday afternoon, according to the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District.
An estimated 20 storage units had burned, according to fire spokesman Steve Hill said.
No injuries have been reported.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
photo credit: Craig Cannon
51 comments
Was it Public Storage or Pacheco Mini Storage?
Homeless encampment started the fire. Another reason residents are fleeing Concord. The city has become a dump with the homeless taking over every corner.
It was in Pacheco, not Concord.
There is no evidence homeless caused this.
The homeless at it again!
Here, skip the investigation into the cause.
Bums/miscreants under the bridge by the creek there.
Welcome.
So, cig or homeless? Either one should NEVER happen.
It was Pacheco Mini Storage. The twitter pics from the fire department showing green storage locker doors give it away.
Was at Monument Car Parts about 7:30 or so. There were firefighters in the parking lot hosing down several of their engines.
@PachecoKid: sorry, what you say won’t fly in court where the storage owners will be found liable if they caused the fire.
concord ygnacio you continue to ignore facts and law,and let your emotions form your opinion that then becomes fact to you when real facts don’t fit with your opinions.Please.seek professional help for your symptoms of liberalism.
Don’t ever rent at Public Storage.They wont rent to you if you don’t purchase their fake “insurance”.They wont tell you this over the phone,and they insist you buy a lock from them.Not one Public Storage has any cameras,except for inside the office.You get burglarized immediately,mostly because they let the homeless hang around all day at their unit,and they then break into yours,after they watch you and learn your habits,and wait for you to leave,.The one on Concord Ave is the worst.They don’t care.
and the storage co wont give any renter a penny and the storage units insurance wont cover it.
Why would they? They didn’t start the fire.
If they did start the fire they still wont pay,get it yet?
I still don’t get it. They rent you space for you to store your belongings.
They aren’t liable for what you put in the space. That’s why people purchase renter’s insurance. If they started the fire, they would be liable for your loss. They would pay voluntarily or you would sue them and the court would order them to pay.
Get it yet?
They still wont pay and suing someone is a joke,because they still don’t ever have to pay you on a civil matter..This why they illegally sell you insurance,and it is illegal because only an insurance agent can sell you insurance,but they push the insurance because they get a slice,They insist on selling you their way overpriced lock even though you brought a lock with you.
jon s is right, what they force you to buy when you rent a storage unit is NOT insurance, even though they call it that. They are not licensed insurance salespeople in CA, that should be your first hint. NOT INSURANCE. Secondly, what insurance company in their right mind would offer insurance on anything and everything that could possible go into a storage unit. There’s absolutely no disclosure to the insurance company as to what they’re insuring…second hint. NOT INSURANCE
“Insurance” sold at storage facilities is nothing more than a way to get more money out of your pocket each month. They know you’re shopping rates, so they keep their rates down and then force you to buy their “insurance” once you arrive with all your crap in the truck. It’s like the “resort fees” at hotels, a reasonable nightly rate, but then $30 a day for the resort fee. It’s a ripoff.
I will guarantee you that if any of these poor people paid for this “insurance” on their storage unit, not a single one will receive any kind of payout. Settling a claim is not in their business plan. If they are able to force someone to pay, the payout limit is ridiculously low for the premium amount.
They are “tenant protection plans”. A fancy phrase for “let’s get some more money out of your pocket but at least help you feel like it’s worth something when it’s not”.
Don’t believe me?
Update 4/24/18 – The Supreme Court of California ruled unanimously yesterday that self-storage tenant-protection plans don’t constitute insurance.
Update 4/24/18 – The Supreme Court of California ruled unanimously yesterday that self-storage tenant-protection plans don’t constitute insurance. In Heckart v. A-1 Self Storage Inc., the court determined the protection plan available to the plaintiff was “purely incidental” to the rental agreement and adjusted risks between A-1 and its tenants, meaning A-1 indemnified Heckart, not a third-party such as an insurance carrier.
In coming to a decision, the court applied a “principal object and purpose test” to determine whether protection plans fell under Article 22 of the California Insurance Code, which defines insurance as “a contract whereby one undertakes to indemnify another against loss, damage or liability arising from a contingent or unknown event,” according to a source.
“A-1 assumes risks that arise directly from the rental relationship, and it does not provide indemnification beyond damages that might occur to property while it is stored in the rented space,” wrote Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, who authored the court’s opinion. “Therefore, the protection plan has no purpose independent of the rental agreement, and is purely incidental to the rental agreement.”
The court also pointed out that the protection plan was optional and extended “only to risks over which the facility has some control, such as fires, roof leaks, criminal activity and damage to the building. The facility can reduce these risks by taking steps to prevent fires or the spread of fires, to increase security, and to strengthen the building. Therefore, the protection plan serves an additional purpose of providing an incentive to minimize the risks to stored property.”
Not to jump the gun but if it was a homeless encampment that started this it would be the 3rd or 4th fire along a freeway in the Bay Area within 24 hrs,
Cal Trans or whomever owns any area with homeless should clear out all homeless camps ASAP –this will happen again.
Take a BART ride from Walnut Creek to Pleasant Hill. The area between the tracks and the freeway (on the freeway side of teh BART fence) is chock full of bums. All the way down to Treat.
Absolute BS that the local constabulary lets this happen.
What does this have to do with the article, which was about a fire in Pacheco, the cause of which has not been determined?
concord ygnacio you have the comprehension of a 99 year old.or act like it just to ignore the cause and facts that have been talked about here.There wi;l be no stop to random fires when you have random people camping out on property they don’t have permission to be on,and lighting fires to stay warm.Do you contradict everything unless proof is dropped into your cardboard box?did you set the fire?
Very sad for the people who lost their items. 🙁 Although, all the more reason to have less possessions. The less you have, the less you have to lose.
Second fire in that area in two weeks. I have a shop on the backside of the N Buchanan business park and witness the hobo highway daily. They are back there everyday, cutting holes in the fence and stealing anything not bolted down. I call the sheriff and they openly admit they can’t do anything. Keep voting for democrats who sympathize with these drug addled, insane, HOMELESS BY CHOICE maniacs and castrate our police with bs legislation that doesn’t let them enforce laws.
There is no proof the homeless had anything to do with this fire.
Oh wow!! I didn’t know you had the power to know everyone’s story by by just looking at them!!! That’s so cool. Because I’m sure as hell you haven’t taken the time to respect them.
Have you ever thought about the white collar drug problem? I bet you respect them and have empathy for them, right? The only difference is one of them doesn’t have a HOME
No proof? I’m no arson investigator but immediately after the fire began, and I mean immediately, I saw one of the frequent flyers of this area walking away from the flames at the east corner of the mini storage where the fire started with his dog in his arms.
Take your bleeding hearts somewhere else, these people are criminals hiding under the vail of homelessness. I am at ground zero-everyday, and these good down and out folks steal my equipment, steal my building material, steal my trailer batteries, damage my property, scare my 6 year old daughter who plays at my shop, start fires, make verbal threats, throw things over the fence at us when we tell them to leave. They are maniacs. Period.
So don’t start with your Bs virtue signaling about how these people need to be respected, they are sub human trash and prove it to me daily with their actions. Give respect and get it, it not an entitlement.
@PK: did you report your suspicions to the fire department?
Regardless, it is still just a suspicion. There are often wildfires in the Highway 4 corridor caused by a myriad of things. It is rare that anyone would purposely start a fire, including the homeless.
We can’t say ANYTHING about the homeless problem, illegal immigrant problem or the rise in criminal activity. If we do, we are considered racist, bigots, and haters.
You can’t say anything because the cause of this fire has not been determined yet. You are free to comment on this in an article in which it has relevance.
Okay since you said that I’d like to see you volunteer at homeless shelters, stop and give homeless on the side of the road care packages (NOT money) to help them survive. Also please explain to me how you know it’s so EASY to be homeless!
They have more belongings than that. Many have laptops, cell phones, bikes, etc.
What is really sad is that the Red Cross was not there helping the people get housing relocation assistance.
OK, ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to place your bets on what caused the great Pacheco Storage fire of 2019!
I’m betting on a random lightning strike. I have a buddy whose sister is dating a guy who thought he saw a bright flash from the sky, just before the smoke started. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. If you can’t prove me wrong, then give me your best guess.
My guess is a thrown cigarette from a car or sparks from an engine/exhaust.
@ cy…. you have no right to accuse a smoking motorist for starting the fire! No proof a car was to blame either!
You can’t say anything because the cause of this fire has not been determined yet!
See how stupid that is?
C’mon, Dr. Jelly, the only proof I asked for was proof that I am wrong. Go ahead and give us your best theory.
Sorry Cowellian… I was responding to concord ygnacio (cy) and quoting her/him (but I’m betting it’s a her).
Pacheco Kid could be right… I saw a guy hurt himself that way once
It was pretty funny! It also sparked my interest in becoming a butt medicine Doc for complete idiots… gotta love a job that keeps you laughing.
Now…. knowing the area as well as I do (and it is full of Under Bridge Dwellers) I’m betting the guy who was seen scramming away from the fire with the dog in his arms started the fire accidentally while trying to remove a tick from his dog’s butt by lighting a match, blowing it out & then touching the hot match head to the tick’s head so that it would let go of the dog’s butt…. which is the wrong way to do it…. I’d tweeze it at the skin and force the tick to back out, but he probably dropped the match or a spark shot off from it when he struck it and it hit those dry weeds…. or it could have been lightning… nah!… no clouds in the sky or anything so not likely…it might have been static electricity if the homeless wastrels were wearing slippers and rubbing their feet along on a carpet remnant they were using for a living room and sparking each other like a game…. that’s probably it!
Or….. maybe it was target shooters like the guys who started the Morgan fire said so they would not get in trouble for playing with illegal fireworks.
If you think they will actually admit it was caused by the homeless,I’d like to sell you a bridge near SF.
oh brother Dr juglofeeler just to contradict??of course it is but its not racial for a white guy to talk about white guys.Homelessness is mostly caucasian,and whites aren’t dare allowed to ANYTHING negative about anyone that isn’t white,if they want to be PC in a ridiculous liberal social media world.But you can talk all the crap you want about Caucasians if youre not one.take your pill and get a nap now.
concord ygnacio that only happens when theres a disaster,not a hoebum fire.
Talking about eliminating the homeless problem is not a racial thing.In case you didn’t notice,almost every homeless person you see is Caucasian.Most non Caucasian families will allow the kids to live at the houses till well into their 40’s and 50’s .But like my father,he told myself and my brother,when youre 18,youre moving out.I left the last day of being 17.Alot will do this,and will wind up on the streets.Those that avoid drugs and alcohol can usually pull their life together and its only temporary,until they save up and get a place.The homeless you see in the Paceco area,this is their life,and it’s not changing.
Caucasian (White) isn’t a race?
And where in any post did I ever use the word “race” or ” color”?
what is your problem?
and where in my comments did I mention “white”?
@ jon s ~ You spelled my name wrong.
Since you asked what my problem is…. well….I tend to take words and their meanings literally.
“Talking about eliminating the homeless problem is not a “racial” thing”.
“almost every homeless person you see is “Caucasian”.
Here’s a definition from “The Free Dictionary”
*Caucasian race, Caucasoid race, White people, White race – a light-skinned race.
I’m not being contrary, I am simply pointing out that by stating most homeless are Caucasian (White) you are designating a racial profile.
I know you were not expressing a prejudice, but it is important to point out that White is a race and it is not the only race of people that can be racist.
White people can be discriminated against too you know!
I’ve known people who lost jobs under various pretenses and found out it was really done for corporate “diversity” and have seen Whites denied jobs because upper management was holding out for an other than White applicant and they told me so because I was doing the hiring! That was racial discrimination.
I will agree that the majority of homeless, in this region… are Caucasian (White) but that may not hold true everywhere across the USA.
I hope that answers all your questions.
Perhaps not best place to store the spare Lamborghini Aventador ? ? ?
Would be gone long and converted into a mobile bathroom long before it was set afire.
They wont rent you a personal storage unit anymore unless you buy their”insurance” now.It;s the new (getting old) storage scam.,And again,they wont tell you till you show up with a truckload of stuff and put you on the spot.Best to go to a stoarge company in your car and act like youre just looking.
So you mean to pay attention and read the documents? And check with your insurance coverage? Oh! Life is so complicated, must be those (whatever) parties screwing us over again. Wake up and take care of yourself. In anykind of deal that involves property and paperwork you need to read it. OK?
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