FIRE AT A YUCCA VALLEY ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY CAUSES EVACUATION

Two people were displaced from their rooms at an assisted living facility in Yucca Valley after a fire tore through one of the facility’s bathrooms and its attic Sunday, Janunary 3. San Bernardino County Fire Captain Dean Dickover said the fire, which caused between $5,000 and $10,000-worth of damage, appears to have been sparked by a bathroom fan. A staff member that was walking by the room noticed smoke coming from it and activated the fire alarm. The room’s door had been left open by a resident when they went to the cafeteria downstairs. During the incident, some of the residents of the 85 bed two-story facility were evacuated by staff members. It was reported shortly after 8:30 a.m. in the 55400 block of Santa Fe Trail. 12 firefighters including 3 engines, one medic ambulance, and one battalion chief responded to the incident. Responding firefighters arrived to the facility and saw flames emanating out of its second story. Firefighters entered the building and determined the fire was coming from a bathroom and the attic and quickly put it out. Firefighters remained on scene for approximately 3 hours. Dickover said two units were damaged and the two people that lived in them were displaced as a result of the fire; the fire remains under investigation.