Crime & Safety

Greenhouse Fire Causes Estimated $500,000 in Damage

Gilroy fire crew responded to a fire at South Pacific Orchids, Inc., located just outside city limits.

The was dispatched Wednesday to assist the South Santa Clara County Fire District on a greenhouse fire that caused an estimated $500,000 in damage, a Cal Fire official said.

The two-alarm fire was reported around 8:15 a.m. in the 1900 block of Buena Vista Avenue on the property of South Pacific Orchids, Inc., located just outside city limits.

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Two greenhouses containing orchids were destroyed, although more may have been affected, Cal Fire Battalion Chief Jim Crawford said.

Upon arrival, fire crews saw a layer of smoke and had difficulty locating the fire’s source in the mass of greenhouses, according to Capt. Colin Martin of the Sunrise Fire Station.

“There was light smoke coming from a green house, but there were many of them, so we couldn’t pinpoint where it was at first,” Martin said. “There was a lot of light smoke in the structure. Eventually we were able to pinpot where it was by communicating with [South Pacific Orchid] workers.”

Fire crews located burning plastic inside one of the greenhouses, and said most of the damage was to the plastic sheets and tarps used to drape over the structures.

Crawford said calm winds and high humidity prevented the fire from spreading, and that additional engines out of San Jose and Morgan Hill also assisted.

An employee at a nearby business said Buena Vista Avenue was blocked off by fire trucks as crews fought the blaze. The fire was contained around 9:15 a.m. with no injuries reported. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

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— The Bay City News contributed to this report. 

 


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