Devastating fire destroys 5 mobile homes at Santa Margarita park. ‘It happened very quickly’

Residents in the Santa Margarita Mobile Home Park said they were shocked by the blaze that destroyed five homes on Friday afternoon.

Cal Fire and Santa Margarita Fire Department responded to a fire at the park, located on Pinal Avenue, around noon, according to the emergency response app PulsePoint.

Other responding agencies including the Atascadero Fire Department, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office and the Atascadero State Hospital Fire Department.

Roommates Coral Rose and Michelle Jones said they were at work when they got phone calls from neighbors about the fire.

The pair said they were initially worried about their cats, especially when they got a video from a neighbor showing how close the flames were to their own home.

”I could see our house in the background and I was like, ‘I have to go, I have to go right now,’ ” Jones told The Tribune. “I just got goosebumps.”

Rose said the neighbors are pretty close, often having barbecues together at one of the homes that burned down.

”When I pulled up, I got a lot of hugs,” Jones said. “A lot of people were hugging me telling me it’s OK. We’re pretty close here.”

Rose added: “Everyone’s still in shock right now of what’s going on.”

According to Rose, the fast-moving blaze destroyed the homes in about three minutes.

Santa Margarita Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Robert Guy confirmed that the fire spread quickly.

“Going in, I could see the column of smoke all the way from Atascadero, so I knew our guys were fighting something real,” he told The Tribune on Friday afternoon. “When I got here, all five structures were already fully involved, so it happened very quickly.”

Guy said the first home “totally burned to the ground, and (the blaze) spread from there.”

Other homes were irreparably damaged by the fire, he said, although they were still standing after the flames died down.

Guy said one person was taken to the hospital due to smoke inhalation, but he didn’t know if that was an occupant or someone trying to help fight the fire.

There were several chinchillas and dogs in the homes that were damaged by the fire, but all pets are OK, Guy added.

The American Red Cross was at the scene on Friday afternoon helping those displaced by the blaze.

This story was originally published May 13, 2022 at 12:47 PM.