Multiple crews from several agencies were sent to a three-alarm fire involving a vacant building in downtown Solvang on Friday morning.
At approximately 5:30 a.m., personnel from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department responded to the incident near Molle Way and First Street, fire Capt. Scott Safechuck said.
The fire involved a three-story building at the intersection, prompting the incident commander to declare a second-alarm and then a third alarm to get additional firefighting resources to the scene.
Santa Maria, Lompoc, Vandenberg, Santa Barbara and Montecito sent firefighters and equipment to the incident.
The building was in flames when firefighters arrived to the scene and they took defensive actions to keep the blaze from spreading to adjacent buildings, Safechuck said. Responders also evacuated buildings nearby, for one block in each direction, and closed nearby streets.
The fire was knocked down by 7:30 a.m., Safechuck added.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation.
Fire agencies will use heavy equipment to knock down areas of the building with collapse zone potential so investigators can get inside, Safechuck said.
People were allowed back into nearby buildings Friday morning, but streets will stay closed near the fire scene because of the heavy equipment and fire operations, he said.
Later Friday, Solvang city staff warned some residents and businesses in the area may notice temporary water discoloration or air in their water lines.
“There is no health hazard at this time. The Solvang Water Division actively monitors the system and maintains high water quality standards,” city staff said.
Customers seeing discolored water should run the cold water in the bathtub for five to 10 minutes. If the water remained discolored, Solvang water customers can contact the city at 805.688.5575, according to the city update on Facebook and Instagram.
#MollyInc Update: Incident response stabilized with resources of a 2nd Alarm & 4 Engines from the Operational Area. Incident Operations have transitioned to Investigation, Overhaul, and Mop-up(of smoldering hot spots). Fire contained to the footprint involved building. SBC Fire… pic.twitter.com/uaXW0PkBCo
— Scott Safechuck (@SBCFireInfo) May 2, 2025
The damaged building appears to be part of the “water wheel building” property, which is the subject of a lawsuit between a developer and the city of Solvang over a proposed hotel project for the site.
South Coast Property Company 13-B LP sued the city in 2022. The complaint alleged city staff had assured them that a development plan to demolish a building and construct a boutique hotel was valid, but later said the plan and permits had expired. Attorneys for the city denied the allegations in an answer to the complaint.
It’s still an active civil case in Santa Barbara County Superior Court and has a case management conference scheduled for July.
At the last meeting in April, attorneys said mediation was unsuccessful, according to court records.
As of March 2022, the building was boarded up and had a stop work order posted on it.
Firefighters initially described the building as “abandoned.”
Santa Ynez Valley restaurant buildings have seen a number of fires in recent months.
In February, crews found a fire burning at the Solvang Brewing Co. building with smoke and flames seen at the rear of the structure. The fire was confined to the building’s exterior and attic on the 1500 block of Mission Drive.
On Dec. 27, a two-alarm fire damaged a vacant building that had housed now-closed restaurants Sear Steakhouse and Juniper on Fourth in the 400 block of Fourth Place in Solvang.
In October, a fire caused significant damage to Buellton’s Fire and Vice restaurant at 238 Highway 246.
A year earlier, a kitchen fire damaged the Big Bopper Drive-In on the 1500 block of Mission Drive in Solvang.