Early Monday morning at about 1:37am, a fire was reported in the 200 block of Bay Street, spreading to multiple palm trees and one nearby structure. Despite experiencing high winds, the Fire Department was able to extinguish the flames and contain the fire.
Thankfully, no injuries were reported as all occupants in the nearby structures had already self-evacuated. One family in the building have a six-day old baby and there were initial fears of injury through smoke inhalation, but the Fire Department have since reported that fortunately this is not the case.
A number of neighbors, who spoke to the Daily Press on the condition of anonymity, said that car alarms had been set off because the bang was so loud and there was even visible fire damage to the trees on the other side of the street.
And everyone remarked on how lucky residents had been that the Santa Ana winds weren't blowing any stronger — or even in just a slightly different direction. Even a slight change in the direction could've caused adjacent buildings to catch fire along with parked vehicles and trees.
Moreover, the fate of the Mexican Fan Palm trees, not only on the street, but also the enormous one that's in the front yard of 227 Bay Street, the property affected by the fire, is in question and some residents are fearful that they may have to be cut down.
A video uploaded to Reddit by YetiPie shows how close the fire came to spreading to property up and down the street.
"I don’t think anyone saw who did it but I hope they catch them too, it was insane how fast it spread. Palm trees are CRAZY flammable turns out, and then turn into these giant fire dispersers that drop flaming vegetation from 50 feet high," YetiPie said in the post, adding, "The Santa Ana winds carried some Palm fronds to the adjacent street and onto another roof and there were smaller fires all over from that. It could have been so much worse, we’re so grateful to the firefighters."
The Daily Press also spoke to Jesus Gastelum, the owner of the Star Liquor store, on the corner of Bay Street and Main Street, as it's hoped that their exterior CC TV cameras might have captured the suspects in action or fleeing the area. He said that they were working on isolating and identifying the relevant footage and that they were communicating closely with the Santa Monica Police Department.
Until the Police Department have collected and reviewed all the video footage available — there also ring camera footage believed to have captured the alleged act of arson — it's hard to separate rumor from fact. But one thing is abundantly clear, the neighborhood surrounding 227 Bay Street is pulling together, offering support and determined to ensure that the perpetrators be bought to justice.
The Police Department has said that this is being assigned to a detective for follow-up. Witnesses at the time reported a firework (unsure as to exactly what kind) and possibly a white hatchback fleeing the scene. Anyone with information about the incident should contact the Santa Monica Police Department at (310) 458-8491.
scott.snowden@smdp.com
