Up in smoke
Santo Tomas merchants face devastation and uncertain futures
CALEXICO — Merchants were allowed back onto the grounds of Santo Tomas Swap Meet on Tuesday to gather and remove merchandise that was not damaged by Saturday night’s fouralarm fire.
Those whose merchandise and stalls were destroyed or heavily damaged by the blaze could only stand behind fencing encircling the burn area and look on at the devastation.
Saturday’s blaze destroyed about 30 to 40 vendor’s stalls, including Sandra Parra’s, where for the past 16 years she sold supplies and decorations for all types of parties and gatherings.
“We have no idea what we’re going to do next,” Parra said in Spanish. “The truth is we are trying to figure it out.”
Parra said she was not allowed on Tuesday to search her stall for any salvageable items, and in all likelihood lost an estimated $30,000 to $40,000 in merchandise during the blaze.
The Calexico Fire Department had advised her and other impacted merchants that possible contaminants still posed a safety risk within the burn area, and that the department’s investigation is still ongoing.
“We haven’t been told anything other than we have to wait,” Parra said. “All we can do is look on.”
Antonia Castillo and Gerardo Rosales also lost thousands of dollars in merchandise as well as some cash they had stored at their vendor’s stall.
The pair had operated a tool and hardware store at the swap meet for more than 30 years and stockpiled extra fire extinguishers at the stall in case of a fire-related incident.
Yet, neither never really considered the possibility that a major blaze while the swap meet was closed could wipe out their livelihoods in an instant.
“All of our lives working for this and now it’s gone,” Rosales said in Spanish.
Rosales said he had previously attempted to obtain insurance for his and his wife’s stall and merchandise, but were told it was only available for the property owner.
The pair said they are trying their best to process their unfortunate situation, but their options appeared very limited.
“We’re going to wait for this place to reopen,” Rosales said. “Where else are we going to go if we don’t have any items to sell?”
Typically, it takes two to three weeks for Calexico fire officials to inspect and investigate a structure fire, said Chief Diego Favila. The large number of vendors’ stalls that were destroyed within the extensive burn area are likely to prolong the department’s investigation.
“To pinpoint it down to one particular spot is going to take time, a lot of manpower and a lot of patience,” Favila said. “We’re doing our best.”
Favila was on hand Tuesday at the swap meet to let impacted merchants know that they could help expedite the process by providing the Fire Department with information regarding their business licenses and estimated losses.
Safety considerations are also limiting merchants’ access to the stalls within the burn area, Favila said.
“We can’t let people go in there because of the contaminants,” he said. “I’m sad for them because there’s a lot of people’s livelihoods here.”
Dozens of merchants had initially gathered at the shuttered swap meet at about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday to discuss their situation. The gathering then made its way over to City Hall, where they demanded to speak with city officials.
An impromptu meeting was then held at the adjacent Rockwood Plaza, where Assistant City Manager Miguel Figueroa addressed the anxious merchants.
Figueroa’s remarks to merchants on Tuesday reflected what city officials had told the swap meet owner and their legal counsel during a meeting Monday, he said.
In both instances, city officials provided an update about the ongoing fire investigation and explained some of the options available for impacted merchants, Figueroa said.
Some of those options included contacting county Deputy Chief Executive Officer Esperanza Colio-Warren at (442) 265-1011 and the Imperial Valley Small Business Development Center at (760) 312-9800 for assistance.
An IVSBDC representative on Tuesday afternoon said the organization already had compiled a list of nearly 30 Santo Tomas merchants who called to request assistance. Those merchants can expect to be contacted by IVSBDC representatives in the coming days.
The city of Calexico also waived certain fees for displaced merchants who are interested in establishing a presence at Las Palmas Swap Meet.
“If they have an existing business license for Santo Tomas they can use that license to conduct business at Las Palmas with no additional costs,” Figueroa said.
The Las Palmas Swap Meet is also offering a discount of its daily booth rental rate in order to help displaced Santo Tomas merchants, said general manager Brenda Martinez.
“We had about 20 victims of the fire who contacted us,” Martinez said.
Councilman Bill Hodge on Tuesday said the fire and its considerable toll had been weighing heavily on his mind since its occurrence.
Hodge said he had initially pushed for a formal City Council meeting to allow impacted merchants to express their concerns and allow city officials to inform them of any available assistance and the ongoing investigation.
Though there is limited action the city can do in such a situation, the last thing it should do is completely remove itself from the situation and keep the impacted merchants in the dark, Hodge said.
“I was pleased that there was more of a possibility of helping them than what had at first been discussed,” he said. “The people have lost their livelihoods around Christmas time and are very worried about not being able to work.”