Housing Authority provides a progress report about rehousing Casanova Plaza residents displaced by fire.

In the weeks following the March 9 three-alarm fire that rendered the Casanova Apartments in Monterey unlivable for its residents, at least temporarily—sending eight to the hospital and leading to one death—the Housing Authority of Monterey County (HACM) is coordinating to support and potentially rehouse displaced residents elsewhere. 

“This has been an incredibly difficult experience for the residents affected by this fire, and our focus remains on helping each household move forward with stability and support,” HACM Executive Director Zulieka Boykin said in a statement. “Our staff has been working directly with residents every day to answer questions, connect them with housing resources and coordinate services so families have a clear path toward temporary and longer-term housing.”

HACM reports it has assisted 20 of the 84 displaced residents to secure housing so far, with those residents expected to move into their new units by Friday, March 27. Among those that are being rehoused, 15 will be living at Pacific Meadows in Carmel Valley, where HACM is just in the process of taking over management; four in Rippling River in Carmel Valley; and one in Monterey. The remaining residents are staying at the Country Inn and Suites in Marina, paid for by the Housing Authority, or with family.  

The Housing Authority has coordinated with the Veterans Transition Center to provide free housing navigation for the 18 veterans displaced by the fire, and to help the other residents, HACM partnered with nonprofit Central Coast Center for Independent Living. HACM staff and leadership have held multiple meetings with displaced residents at the hotel and remain on-site there to assist them and answer questions. 

Monterey-Salinas Transit is coordinating with HACM to help former Casanova Plaza residents get around and the nonprofit All-In Monterey County is providing assistance to purchase household furnishings for the residents who have secured housing.

Residents are not yet permitted to go back into Casanova Plaza until a full structural and environmental assessment is completed. The investigation of the fire's cause was released Thursday, March 25, with investigators unable to determine the exact cause of the fire, which started on the third floor. 

"Based on my training, education, and experience as a fire investigator, and following a comprehensive review of physical evidence such as fire patterns, burn damage, heat/soot deposition, char depth, loss of mass, ventilation effects, and fire spread pathways, the origin was determined to be the living room of Unit 311," Incident Investigator and Monterey Fire Department Division Chief Justin Cooper states in the report. "However, due to multiple plausible ignition sources within the area of origin such as motorized recliner electrical components, battery power units, a candle holder, a gas wall heater, and the extent of fire damage obscuring critical evidence, the first item ignited and the ignition sequence could not be conclusively established.