CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — A red-tagged home on Woodlawn Avenue in Chula Vista has attracted several people who shouldn’t be staying there, and some neighbors told ABC 10News they are frustrated.
It has been more than seven months since a fire destroyed the home on 1090 Woodlawn Avenue.
The fire also damaged Linda Sanchez’s home next door. She had to move out for several months while the insurance company worked on thousands of dollars worth of repairs, which still isn't complete. She said the situation has been very stressful for her and her family.
“Sometimes, I just sit down in the chair just crying, and I [say] what is going to happen to next door because I cannot open my sliding door … I don’t want to look at all that,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez was at a nearby relative’s home on February 2 when someone told her there was a fire on her street.
One person was hurt and at least three pets were killed in the fire.
The home is clearly red-tagged and deemed unsafe to live in. Despite the signs saying do not enter, there are people going in and out of the home.
ABC 10News anchor Melissa Mecija spoke to several people, including one person staying in the backyard. The person, who did not identify himself, said he doesn’t know how many people are staying at the home.
Two other people were seen going in and out of the front part of the home, and voices could be heard inside the garage.
Sanchez, who has lived in the neighborhood for roughly 50 years, said she knew the couple that lived in the home before they passed away.
She said the activity next door is constant.
“There’s a lot of people coming in and out … people that I don’t know. The people that I know, it doesn’t matter to me because I know them and they will do nothing to me,” Sanchez said.
Despite multiple people denying that they live in the home, public records showed the house was packed when the fire happened. According to the fire investigation report, 12 people were living in the property. There were seven people inside, two in the patio and three in tents in the backyard.
Fire investigators never determined the cause of the fire, but they found it started in the backyard patio area being used as a living space. That area had two extension cords with fire damage. The report showed someone “plugged in the extension cord to his tent for power.”
Records also showed that from February 2023 to February 2026, there were eight police calls for service, ranging from a disturbance to a narcotics call.
“Nobody’s supposed to be inside the house. Nobody,” Sanchez said.
She wants the property cleaned up and said she visited city hall a few months ago. Sanchez said she was told there is nothing they can do and that the owner is responsible for the property.
“I feel bad because of the homeless people, but I know there’s a lot of help for them,” she said.
A spokesperson told ABC 10News there were no code enforcement violations at the home before the fire. A code enforcement case was opened after the fire on Feb. 12. The home was red-tagged two weeks later.
The city spokesperson confirmed via email that the property owner decided to demolish the property and submitted a permit application on Aug. 11, which is now under review. According to the city, the code enforcement division hasn’t received additional complaints about the home or any referrals from police or the city’s homeless outreach team.
In the meantime, Sanchez is still waiting for her home to be fully fixed and worries there could be another fire in the future.
Attempts to reach the property owner were unsuccessful. It is unclear when the home will be torn down.
