Concerns grow over vacant building fires along Sacramento's Del Paso Boulevard

Overnight, a large vacant building burned down on the same Sacramento street that's seen a number of suspicious fires in past years, including one earlier this month. Now, there's concern about the potential for more fires in this neighborhood.

It's a familiar sight on Del Paso Boulevard. There have been two suspicious fires in the last two weeks on the same street, both breaking out in the early morning hours.

The most recent blaze started Monday morning in a building that had previously been a medical center and a school. Conditions inside the vacant structure were so dangerous that fire crews said they could only fight the fire from the outside.

"That location has been the site of a number of fires over the years," City Councilmember Roger Dickinson said. "It is subject to code enforcement from the city for a variety of violations."

Exactly two weeks earlier, fire tore through the former Bank of America building.

Dickinson represents the area and said these types of vacant structures can be a neighborhood nuisance.

"It becomes attractive for someone who might be interested in arson," Dickinson said. "That's the problem with these vacant buildings, and it may not be someone who's intentionally setting fire. It can be someone who's trying to warm themselves up or cook something."

There are a number of other boarded-up businesses along Del Paso Boulevard, which is concerning to some business owners.

"It certainly doesn't help matters, and we need less of it if this district is to improve," one store manager in the area said.

There have been other suspicious fires on this street in past years, including at the Casa Bella furniture store, which burned down in 2023, and Iceland skating rink, which was destroyed by an arsonist in 2010.

Neither has been rebuilt yet, although both sites have reconstruction plans in the works.

Later this spring, city councilmembers will consider a new infrastructure financing proposal for the area that could encourage more neighborhood revitalization.

The exact cause of both fires this month is still under investigation.