Update: El Rancho Motel blaze deemed as ‘suspicious fire’ by Barstow officials
The historic but recently-troubled El Rancho Motel went up in flames Tuesday, prompting a multi-agency firefighting response in Barstow and roughly a quarter-mile of Main Street to be closed.
And now, Barstow Police Department is investigating the inferno for a potential man-made, criminal origin.
“We’re not prepared to call it an arson yet, but we’re going to call it a ‘suspicious fire,’ ” BPD Captain Chris Kirby told the Daily Press shortly after 8 a.m. Wednesday. He said an investigator was still on the scene at that time, but awaiting lab results for evidence from the blaze may delay any solid determinations.
“We are working with our investigators with bomb and arson and we’re trying to determine whether it’s actual arson or not,” Kirby said. “I’m thinking it’s going to take a bit of time — a couple weeks, or maybe even longer — to determine what the evidence is really telling us.”
The fire was still raging more than an hour after it started, according to an ambulance worker who told the Daily Press at about 10:20 p.m. that the blaze had started roughly 45 minutes prior.
Barstow Fire Protection District interim Chief Nick DiNapoli said shortly after 11:20 p.m. that the fire had enveloped about 75% of the motel’s rooms. He called it a three-alarm fire.
DiNapoli told the Daily Press that no injuries have been identified due to the fire.
Barstow Fire tapped nearby departments for a hand as the inferno engulfed most of the structure that makes up the more than 70-year-old motel at 112 East Main Street, dousing its iconic El Rancho Barstow sign with smoke as onlookers were relegated to stand behind caution tape across the street.
Fort Irwin Fire personnel were on the scene assisting BFPD firefighters with the blaze Tuesday night. A Victorville Fire Protection District engine arrived at about 10:38 p.m. Firefighters pounded water onto a sign at the motel’s entrance that reads, “Get your kicks on world-famous Route 66,” which had been caught in the fire’s reach.
More reinforcements were at the scene Wednesday morning.
A San Bernardino County Sheriff Bomb Squad truck was parked at the entry to the motel on Main Street, where its intersection with First Avenue remained closed to drivers as workers with heavy machinery dug through the rubble. Private parties such as Southern California Edison and Golden State Water Company also had vehicles at the scene.
“It’s a big one. It’s done. This El Rancho is done,” one bystander shouted with a tone of awe as he left the scene Tuesday night.
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The motel was built by Cliff Chase and launched in the mid-1940s. It was constructed in part with wooden railroad ties, contributing to an old-fashioned wooden look and functioning as a callback to Barstow’s heyday as the High Desert hub of Route 66 and the railroad industry.
The motel is rumored to have once been frequented by legends of Americana, such as Marilyn Monroe.
But in modern times, the motel has been troubled. Local accounts and online reviews lament problems such as bed bugs and problematic tenants.
With that, many rooms at the motel were “red-tagged” or declared unsafe for occupancy by the City of Barstow’s Code Enforcement department on May 31.
“This building has been deemed unsafe to occupy for the following reasons: NO ELECTRICITY — SEWER BLOCKAGE,” reads a red-tag notice on one of the few doors to an El Rancho room that went untouched by the Tuesday night fire.
The May 31 notice states that it’s a misdemeanor to occupy an El Rancho room or to remove or deface the red-tag notice itself, citing a provision of the 1997 Uniform Housing Code which states: “No person shall remain in or enter any building that has been so posted, except that entry may be made to repair, demolish or remove such building under permit.”
The Daily Press requested comment from city officials last week on the Code Enforcement action at El Rancho and more recent red-taggings at the Desert Inn motel but didn’t receive a response.
Charlie McGee covers California’s High Desert for the Daily Press, focusing on the city of Barstow and its surrounding communities. He is also a Report for America corps member with The GroundTruth Project, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization dedicated to supporting the next generation of journalists in the U.S. and around the world. McGee may be reached at 760-955-5341 or cmcgee@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @bycharliemcgee.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Fire engulfs 75% of rooms at historic El Rancho Motel in Barstow
