CLEARLAKE >> A vacant motel building on the former Wisedas Resort in Clearlake was critically damaged in a fire late Thursday evening.
The blaze broke out at around 11:15 p.m. and forced a large response consisting of multiple county fire agencies, Cal Fire, and the Lake County Department of Environmental Health. According to Lake County Fire (LCF) Chief Willie Sapeta, more than 50 firefighters arrived on the property located at 14395 Lakeshore drive and didn’t stop the flames forward progress until about 1:15 a.m. Friday morning.
This is the second destructive fire to occur on the property. The first occurred in early 2013 when a homeless man living in the former restaurant reportedly burned it down by knocking over his candle. Although there were no witnesses to the incident, Richard Alarcon Teruel Jr. was sentenced to 220 days in county jail and three years of probation.
It is too early for Sapeta to announce a cause. The Clearlake Police Department, the LCF, Cal Fire, and county district attorney’s office are conducting a joint investigation.
“It’s still under investigation,” he said. “We have to eliminate all probable causes.”
No injuries or environmental impacts from the falling debris into adjacent Clear Lake were reported.
The building will have to be abated, Sapeta added.
