4 buildings damaged in San Luis Ranch as fire engulfs homes under construction

A fire at the San Luis Ranch housing development in San Luis Obispo damaged four homes in an explosive blaze that quickly engulfed the unfinished structures Tuesday night.

The fire also sent up a massive plume of dark smoke that could be seen from around the city.

San Luis Obispo City Fire Chief Todd Tuggle said the fire at Heirloom Place and Legacy Lane completely destroyed two homes, wrecked half of another and then did some exterior damage to a fourth.

“Everything that was impacted was under construction,” he said from the scene. There were no reported injuries.

Tuggle said the two-alarm fire started just after 7 p.m. and was contained within about 20 minutes of crews arriving on scene. The fire also scorched traffic medians along Froom Ranch Way, where firefighters were working as of 8:15 p.m. to drench the smoking landscaping.

In total, Tuggle said there were about 10 or 11 units at the scene to battle the blaze, including crews from Atascadero, Pismo Beach and Cal Fire.

“Lots of help came to the city at a time when we needed it,” he said. “And we appreciate that effort.”

Tuggle noted there was initially some trouble getting water to fight the fire as the hydrant closest to the buildings wasn’t charged. Other hydrants nearby were in working order however, he said.

“We are unsure why that was the case,” Tuggle said, noting that would likely be a part of the further investigation as they now look into the cause of the fire.

According to Tuggle, it was not immediately clear what may have caused the fire.

“Houses under construction do not have power or gas supplied to them yet, so there is good reason to do a thorough investigation on the cause, since we don’t have an obvious source of ignition at this point,” he said.

He urged anyone with information on the cause of the fire to call the Fire Department’s non-emergency line at 805-781-7380.

Tuggle said crews were likely to be in the area for several more hours Tuesday night to ensure there wasn’t any more burning material in the area.

The fire Tuesday night was in the nearly the same spot where another fire destroyed the historic Dalidio barn on the same property in 2019.

This story was originally published June 11, 2024 at 7:49 PM.

Kaytlyn Leslie

The Tribune

805-781-7928 (voicemails only)

Kaytlyn Leslie writes about business and development for The San Luis Obispo Tribune. Hailing from Nipomo, she also covers city governments and happenings in San Luis Obispo. She joined The Tribune in 2013 after graduating from Cal Poly with her journalism degree.