Two buildings have sat partially burned on Valley Road since they were intentionally set on fire in the beginning of June by CAL FIRE and other local emergency organizations.
A concerned viewer contacted KSBY regarding the structures, stating: “At the time, we were told the buildings would be demolished and the site cleaned up immediately following the exercise … What was once part of the training exercise now appears to be little more than graffiti and blighted structures.”
Ryan Bullock lives near where the training took place, but says he wasn't impacted by the initial days-long training.
“I don't see it as an eyesore that badly, but I understand that they're either waiting for better weather conditions, the right timing, or that they're planning to just tear it down, but trying to organize that," Bullock said.
I reached out to Battalion Chief Chad Fleming, who was in charge of the training exercise. He said in the 11 trainings he’s done in the area since 2019, this is the first to have not been burnt to the ground within the multi-day training window. He said it was delayed for one crucial reason - the gas line wasn’t shut off in time.
“That did cause a safety risk potentially to any of the firefighters that were working on the project or anybody directly in the immediate, surrounding areas," Fleming said. "So we made the decision, based on the safety measures, to postpone burning both buildings to the ground.”
Fleming said trainings like these happen when landowners donate buildings to local agencies so they can simulate emergencies in exchange for burning down the buildings.
“The primary intent of, of us burning these buildings to the ground is training," Fleming said. "It's to improve our service delivery model to the community and citizens to San Luis and Santa Barbara counties.”
Fleming said these structures are still a top priority for CAL FIRE, adding that as of July 15, the gas company has removed the gas line and in the next 2-3 weeks, firefighters will complete the burning.
“We don't have any concerns with it," Bullock said. "Just wait to see what happens at this point and curious to see what's going to happen to the property in the future, whether it'll just become a farm field or if somebody is going to develop another house there and what the future holds for it.”
