CAPITOLA — Capitola authorities are investigating the cause of a Christmas morning explosion and fire at an apartment complex near the city’s esplanade that displaced residents and caused widespread shock and concern as videos of the blaze circulated online.
According to a release from the Capitola Police Department, first responders were called at about 5:10 a.m. Wednesday to the 100 block of Lawn Way in Capitola Village after receiving reports of a structure fire and possible gas explosion. After arriving on the scene, emergency personnel evacuated nearby residents and were able to extinguish the flames later that morning.
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Although the investigation is ongoing, the fire is not believed to be suspicious in nature, according to the police department’s release. Approximately three residents were displaced as a result of the blaze, two of whom were connected with the American Red Cross for assistance. No injuries were reported.
Melissa Serriteno, owner of Caruso’s Tuscan Cuisine, which is about a block north of the incident, told the Sentinel she woke up Wednesday to images of the raging fire and raced down to Capitola Village close to 8 a.m. amid fears that it may have moved toward her restaurant.
“I thought my business was going to (catch) on fire,” said Serriteno. After seeing that the fire had been mostly contained to the apartment building itself and after confirming one of the residents she knew was safe, Serriteno’s focus shifted to El Toro Bravo, a Mexican food restaurant that is contiguous with the destroyed apartment building.
“I thought that El Toro Bravo was on fire and they are our friends, so I was scared for them,” said Serriteno.
In a social media post shared Wednesday, El Toro Bravo management confirmed that its building survived the explosion and subsequent fire with only minor damage, but the destruction next door was devastating.
“Everyone made it out unharmed thank the Lord!” the post reads. “No ETA on when we will be back open, but we will be sooner than later.”
Multiple merchants in Capitola Village that personally know two residents that lived on the bottom floor of the complex said one escaped the fire in the pre-dawn hours while the other was out of town and not present when the explosion occurred.
Authorities established a perimeter around the pulverized housing complex and surrounding area that impacted traffic in Capitola Village on Christmas Day. By Thursday morning, the building in question, deemed to be structurally compromised, and a few neighboring streets were still fenced off, but a traffic corridor had been reestablished. A spokesperson for Capitola police said crews were working to restore utilities to some buildings in the immediate vicinity.
The surrounding streets were all wet Thursday from a light drizzle of rain, but much of the esplanade area was still coated in a thin layer of sand left there a few days prior, from a massive ocean swell that slammed the county’s coastline. The raging waves Monday snapped off a 150-foot section at the end of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf and flooded parts of Capitola Village with seawater. Esplanade Park was closed during the storm and the village experienced some evacuations that were eventually lifted by Tuesday morning.
“It just seems like we can’t catch a break down here,” said Devon Salter, owner of Capitola Reef and a member of the village business association’s board. “It’s like one thing after another.”
Salter, sitting quietly behind the counter in his shop full of beach-themed gear, clothing and trinkets, said running a business in Capitola Village has been a struggle in recent years because of powerful winter storms that have relentlessly rocked the region. In early 2023, a series of atmospheric rivers flooded much of the village and snapped the Capitola Wharf in two before another round of storms that December also brought widespread damage. Salter said the cost of closing and facility repairs are one thing, but many people in surrounding regions perceive the village to be closed when it is open and eager to greet potential customers.
“We’re so impacted by the weather here,” said Salter. “Christmas week … through the New Year can actually be a pretty good week for us down here. But not if it’s raining.”
