A “stubborn fire” on Friday damaged an historic property on the Miraflores site in Richmond that was once the longtime home of Japanese-American flower nurseries, according to fire officials.
Richmond firefighters responded to the scene near S. 47th Street and Florida Avenue around 11 a.m. and located smoke coming from one of the vacant and boarded up structures on the property, according to Richmond Firefighters Local 188, the union that represents city firefighters.
Local 188 shared video footage from the fire fight. The flames were extinguished in about an hour and no injuries were reported.
“Crews were challenged with access issues and containing the flames within the many void spaces in the building,” Local 188 stated.
Fire officials did not immediately state a possible cause for the blaze. The property is reportedly subject to rampant squatting. The fire reportedly occurred while a volunteer cleanup effort was happening in the area. Richmond Councilmember Doria Robinson reported online that she and other volunteers were cleaning up the park when they saw people running out of the property while it was on fire. Robinson indicated the properties have had issues with squatting.
The incident drew criticism from former Richmond Mayor Tom Butt, who stated on his e-forum that the city needs to do more to protect historic structures, noting the 2023 fire that destroyed the International Hotel as an example. The mayor fears the same fate will befall the Winehaven structures on Stenmark Drive.
Councilmember Robinson says police and homeless outreach staff often respond to the site to remove people, but they keep coming back. A community meeting was held about the matter, where a number of steps were discussed to secure the site, however futile, the councilmember said.
Long-running plans to transform the Miraflores property into a mixed-use residential development stalled in 2023 and have yet to come to fruition.