Calfire had yet to release an official cause of Sunday’s barn
fire near Hollister before Pinnacle press time, but the blaze did
plenty of damage to the totaled structure.
Calfire had yet to release an official cause of Sunday’s barn fire near Hollister before Pinnacle press time, but the blaze did plenty of damage to the totaled structure.
The fire started around 7:30 p.m. Sunday and destroyed a barn along Briggs Road in Hollister, while crews contained it to the one building and prevented it from spreading to an array of neighboring structures, including the DeBrito Chocolate Factory on the 100 block of Briggs Road close to the intersection of the Highway 25 bypass, said Calfire spokesman Jonathan Pangburn. It completely destroyed the barn structure, though, he said.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Calfire did not have an official cause to report, Pangburn said.
Firefighters from Calfire and several other local agencies responded to the blaze. When they arrived it already was fully involved. Crews did a “primary search” of the area and got all people out of threatened buildings, he said. There were structures, farm equipment, orchards and other vegetation surrounding the barn, but none of it was damaged. Additionally, nobody was injured in the blaze, he said.
Firefighters had the blaze contained by about 8 p.m., but it was too late for the barn operated by Tonascia Farms and owned by the neighboring chocolate factory.
Joe and Karen Tonascia are owners of the farm business, which runs the Bertuccio’s produce stand at 2410 Airline Highway, just north of the Union Road intersection.
Pacific Gas & Electric also responded to Sunday’s fire to address a downed line, Pangburn noted.
Aside from Calfire and its three engines, many other agencies responded to the incident. The San Benito County Fire Department was the lead agency. The Hollister Fire Department responded with an engine and ladder truck and also provided an air/light unit to refill oxygen tanks for crews entering the barn. The North Monterey County Protection Fire District helped out and brought a water tender, as did the South Santa Clara County department, because there were no hydrants in that area north of Hollister. There were additional volunteers there, too, he said.
“It was a very large structure and was putting off a lot of heat,” Pangburn said. “They had to get lines around on each side of the building and neighboring structures.”
Pangburn said there were firefighters on scene until around midnight, and the investigator was working well into the night as well.
