EL CAJON, Calif. — (KGTV) — Smoke and ash filled the sky as a neighborhood in El Cajon watched a house burn for the second time in 16 months. The fire started Wednesday around 7:30 a.m. on Anza Street in unincorporated El Cajon.
Firefighters returned to the home where three people were killed in a house fire in April 2023.
This time around, nobody was injured. The San Diego Sheriff's Department detained a man that witnesses claim they saw walking away from the home after the fire began.
Since the previous fire, the home has been sold, and the new property owner says he was just weeks away from demolishing it. But then, on Wednesday morning, he got calls from neighbors telling him it was on fire.
San Miguel Firefighters arrived soon after. "They were on it and it was spread(ing) so fast. It was unbelievable," neighbor David Taylor told ABC 10 News.
Taylor knew the three people who lived in the home before the first fire.
Ryan Mikha, and his company, New Vision Building and Design now own the house. He was planning to have the gas line disconnected this week, after months of delays.
"We were supposed to have that certificate from SDGE by the end of this week and move it to the demo before the end of the month," Mihka said. Mihka added that the process has been delayed for 6 months, and in that time, he's had to continuously kick people out of the home who are trying to stay there without permission.
"We bought it in November of last year. I have a lady that lives in the neighborhood that called the sheriff multiple times," he said.
ABC 10News called and messaged the San Diego Sheriff's Department multiple times Wednesday, attempting to find out how often deputies have been called to the property. ABC 10News also asked the Sheriff's Department about the outcome of the first fire investigation. The agency has not provided the information.
In the meantime, the home is fenced off, after being burned to ashes for the second time.
Now, crews will begin yet another fire investigation on Anza Street.
"God, it's a shame," Taylor said.
