Charred remains of Asian market on Merced’s Main Street nearly three months old
Nearly three months after a fire destroyed an Asian market on Main Street, the charred pile of rubble remains on view and it’s unclear when it will be removed.
No one was injured in the Dec. 18 blaze in the 600 block of West Main Street, but the building and its contents were “deemed a total loss,” according to Merced fire officials.
The flames were reported just after 10 a.m. on that Sunday morning. The first fire crew found heavy smoke rising from the roof at the back of the building, which was home to UC Oriental Market and KCW Cellular.
Investigators are done with the building, though they have not wrapped up the investigation, according to fire Capt. Morgan Madruga.
There’s all kinds of stuff going on, so you don’t want to have a charred pulp (there).
Councilwoman Jill McLeod
whose District 3 includes the downtown“The physical investigation out there has already been completed,” he said on Tuesday. “That was done pretty quickly.”
Investigators are not ready to announce the cause of the fire, he said, but they have released the building back to its owners.
The business license for the market is under the name Mai Moua, and the cellphone license belongs to Chan Wang Kue, according to city records. No current phone numbers could be found in public records.
Councilwoman Jill McLeod, whose District 3 includes the downtown area, said the timeline for the rubble’s removal is unclear.
“We are pushing to get it cleared and released for a new project as quickly as possible,” she told the Sun-Star. “It’s been inquired about by the community and I feel the same way.”
She said its removal is “at the top of the list” of priorities.
The physical investigation out there has already been completed. That was done pretty quickly.
Capt. Morgan Madruga of Merced Fire Department
That section of downtown is set for something of a face-lift with the El Capitan Hotel and Mainzer Theater, both in the same area, are scheduled for multimillion-dollar upgrades from the same developer in coming months, according to city staff.
“There’s all kinds of stuff going on, so you don’t want to have a charred pulp (there),” McLeod said.
Shortly after the fire, the building’s owners cordoned off the building’s remains with a chain link fence, according to Kevin Hammon, whose computer repair business Binary Systems is on the same block. Initially, the fence blocked the sidewalk, but has since been moved and is no longer a problem, he said.
Hammon said he hasn’t heard any neighboring businesses complain about the delay in its removal. “I know it takes time to get permits and all that stuff,” he said.
Thaddeus Miller: 209-385-2453, @thaddeusmiller
This story was originally published March 14, 2017 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Charred remains of Asian market on Merced’s Main Street nearly three months old."