“Roaches, Broken Doors”: Rialto Vista View Fire Victims Say Relocation Has Been Unsafe, Chaotic

More than a month after the Vista View fire destroyed 16 units, many of the 76 displaced residents are settling into new apartments within the same complex, although five families are still without permanent housing. But while the city of Rialto begins to disperse disaster relief funds, some tenants and city officials say the relocation process has been haphazard and stressful. 

On Friday, Nov. 21, at approximately 5:15 p.m., a haze of smoke and flames engulfed the structure located at 1031 S Cactus Avenue.  

Within hours of the inferno, shelter and community support were given to victims. For example, the Rialto Unified School District (RUSD) partnered with the Red Cross to open Simpson Elementary as an emergency evacuation site. The school’s administration, PTA and parent volunteers worked through the night to support the displaced families.

In addition, local advocacy groups, including the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ) and the Hispanic Small Business Coalition (HSBC), stepped in to fill a void, placing victims in nearby hotels, providing food and, once relocated, mattresses. The weeks-long assistance campaign amounted to roughly $42,000 in aid for 15 families according to Ana Gonzalez, executive director of CCAEJ, as the city moved to make amends, which came in the form of a disaster relief fund.  

By a stint of fortune and the heroic efforts of first responders, no one lost their life. And community advocates provided essential aid. In the aftermath, however, dignity remains paramount. 

Liseth Gudiño, who is still displaced, explained to the council during their Dec. 9 meeting with the aid of a Spanish translator, that the apartment she was shown was infested with “roaches, spiders and have doors that are falling off,” creating a safety hazard for her small children. She alleged that the management has no plans to fix the units she was shown. 

“I’m feeling lost,” Gudiño said. “This is not a home for families.” 

Gonzalez anticipated this sentiment at the podium, citing emergencies as tragedies and tools to prevent future fallout, objecting to the tedious disaster relief application process and any mention that tax payer funds must be distributed carefully without acknowledging that victims are also tax-paying residents. 

“They’re not outsiders,” she said. “They’re not opportunists.”

Gonzalez was adamant about the situation and specified that emergency measures are not merely matters of monied buttressing. 

“There are infestations, broken appliances and conditions none of us would ever put our families through,” she said. “I hope the city is paying close attention, because disaster relief is not about financial support, it is about ensuring families are rehoused safely and with dignity.”

In a follow-up interview, Gonzalez explained that CCAEJ wrote a letter citing health and safety and code and tenants rights, prompting property management to address these problems. However, it is unclear if these issues have been addressed in full. 

During the Dec. 9 meeting, Mayor Joe Baca sided with the tenants, expressing his grievances on their behalf and advising they seek legal counsel. 

“It seems the landlord is trying to get away with easy placement,” Baca said following the Council’s last session. “And the conditions they’re placing them in . . . they shouldn’t be put in that . . . the apartments should be nice and clean—they should be furnished.”

Baca added that since the fire started as an electrical fire in the attic, it is the landlords responsibility to rehome victims, especially in light of the affordable housing crisis. 

The landlord “now has an opportunity to rebuild that place and rent it at a higher price,” he said. “Those Vista View apartments were affordable for individuals, and it’s very difficult to find affordable housing in the city of Rialto.” 

According to Attorney Pasha Vafaei of MVP Trial Lawyers, who is representing 67 of 76 displaced residents, no lawsuit has been filed. Although an insurance claim has been made, no adjuster has been assigned to the claim. 

“As soon as we get an adjuster, we’re going to submit on the list of everything that they’ve lost trying to get their property damage back,” Vafaei said. “A lot of these residents have been physically injured as a result of the smoke and everything that they had to inhale, and they’re getting medical treatment.”

He added that the entire process could take one to two years, but it’s too early to tell. 

For longtime resident and mother of two, Jazmine Razo, who now lives in a nearby apartment within the Vista View complex, the incident is a mix of sorrow and gratitude.  

She explained that she was grateful for the outpouring of support her family and their neighbors continue to receive, challenging what she perceived as an incomplete media narrative.

“The community of Rialto has been so extremely helpful with donations, with clothes, shoes, hygiene products, you know, stuff like that,” Razo said. “I feel like no one’s letting us fall, basically.”

Even so, the incident lingers. 

“Every single day I go home to see that empty building with that green fence around it, the wooden board covering the doors and windows,” Razo said. “It’s just, like, a daily reminder of how bad this got.”