Fire destroys the remains of Nipomo center

By Leslie Parrilla

A suspicious fire that tore through the remains of the former Nipomo Recreation Center on Sunday may be linked to an arson blaze that destroyed most of the building a month ago, according to fire investigators.

The blaze started about 4:35 p. m. at 150 S. Frontage Road and was contained about 20 minutes later, according to County/Cal Fire investigators.

An upstairs corner room was all that had survived the May 7 conflagration but after firefighters doused Sunday’s flames, nothing was left.

“There was black smoke when we got there,” County/ Cal Fire Battalion Chief Robert Lewin said.

The cause of the fire is unknown.

A few cans and a bag were left behind in the room where the fire began and were being searched for evidence, fire investigators said.

“It’s suspicious ... There’s nothing that would have started the fire,” said County/Cal Fire Investigator Andy Andersen about the vacant building that doesn’t have electricity.

No witnesses were identified Sunday evening, and employees at Little Jocko’s restaurant next door said they didn’t see anything suspicious before noticing smoke and calling 911.

A side door was found open at the boarded-up building, and the inside was covered with graffiti and buried in layers of ash.

“Just by nature of it being abandoned makes it easy for people to come into,” Lewin said. “They (abandoned buildings) don’t have an alarm. They’re not secured, and there’s no one working in it.”

All three teenagers accused of starting the May fire that caused about $1 million in damage were in custody Sunday and not suspected in the recent incident, fire investigators said.

Friends or acquaintances of the trio may be responsible for Sunday’s fire, according to fire investigators.

The building was leased by the Nipomo Area Recreation Association until 2003, when the county Office of Education put the parcel up for sale.

An investor with plans to build a hotel and retail stores on the 5-acre property bought it in 2004.

Since then, the fate of the building and the land has been unclear, and the recreation center has been working out of modular buildings in Nipomo Community Park.

Members of the Arroyo Grande and Santa Maria fire departments contained the blaze.

Leslie Parrilla can be reached at 783-7645.