WALNUT CREEK (MNG) ? Fire investigators have completed their probe of last year”s massive lumber yard blaze and have formally ruled out arson, but the exact cause might never be clear, the Contra Costa Fire District said Thursday.
On March 13, the Piedmont Lumber and Millwork Company yard at 2860 N. Main St. in Walnut Creek burned to the ground, sending flames and smoke high above Walnut Creek and the adjacent Interstate 680. Investigators pinpointed the area where the fire began but the specific source of ignition and cause remain unknown, said fire investigator Vic Massenkoff.
Speculation grew around the timing of the blaze, as it was in the midst of serious financial distress for the company and months after an arsonist burned a storage shed at a Pittsburg yard. However, Massenkoff said a review of the company”s business and financial behavior and an examination of the fire site yielded no evidence of criminal activity.
The fire caused $6 million in damage and the Walnut Creek property is up for sale. The Pittsburg location has also since been shuttered.
The fire district was assisted by Walnut Creek police and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Rob Myer, son of Piedmont owner William Myer Jr. and grandson of the company founder, said the fire district”s conclusion is one part vindication and one part affirmation for the integrity of his family and workers, some of who spent a half-century with the company.
“It was a sensational story with a storied business in financial trouble and a mysterious fire. From the outside looking in, I see how it looked suspicious,” Myer said. “I”m also the first person to say vehemently that nobody in our family or this organization would ever consider starting a fire that would harm people or this company.
“This gives us some peace,” Myer said of the fire district”s report.
Since the lumber yard was destroyed, Myer has spearheaded a new company, specializing in architectural mill work based in Pacheco and staffed by all former Piedmont workers, scheduled to launch March 11.
“We feel like a phoenix rising from the ashes,” Myer said.
