A house in El Cajon caught fire early Wednesday morning for the second time in less than two years. One person is in custody for Wednesday's fire.
Three members of the family that used to live in the home died in the first fire that happened last April. Since then, the home was not supposed to have anyone living in it, but neighbors say squatters had been staying there.
Ryan Mikha bought the home last November and watched it burn for hours.
“Since the purchase date, we've been getting homeless going back and forth to this property,” Mikha said. “We've been chasing them out. We've been working with the county and SDG&E to get permits to be able to demo this house.”
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That last permit was supposed to come any day now when this happened.
San Miguel Fire & Rescue Battalion Chief Roddey Blunt said this was probably arson.
“There's actually a video of the initial fire that the sheriff was able to get from a resident, and someone actually saw someone walk over and light the fire,” Blunt said.
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The San Diego County Sheriff's Department is not identifying him yet but brought him for questioning.
Squatting is a growing problem in San Diego, according to Blunt.
“If someone finds a structure that's abandoned, they're going to take advantage of that rather than be on the street,” he said. “There's a lot of stuff in there, and there's a trailer in the back full of drug paraphernalia. People have been using this house to do whatever business they’re doing.”
Mikha said he’s had to come by the home 2-3 times a week to get people to leave.
Blunt said other property owners should always pay attention to their property and call the police if they need help. He said his crew searched for anyone who may have gotten trapped inside and didn’t find anyone, but they also couldn’t check the center of the home because it was too dangerous. That won’t be fully confirmed until the home gets demolished.
