LOS ANGELES, CA – An auto body shop in Newhall caught fire Sunday afternoon, less than a month after a major blaze devastated several businesses in the same Old Town Newhall area and left local owners, employees and artists facing a difficult recovery.
Los Angeles County firefighters responded at approximately 4:30 p.m. Sunday, September 20, to the 24200 block of Railroad Avenue after reports of a commercial structure fire.
Firefighters brought the flames under control in about 30 minutes, according to the information provided for the incident. No injuries were reported.
The cause of Sunday’s fire has not been determined.
The location is associated with Gary’s Auto Collision Center, a business at 24247 Railroad Avenue. County records identify Gary’s Auto Collision Center at that address.
The latest fire is drawing particular attention because the same property has been identified as the location where the August 24 Old Town Newhall fire originated, according to fire officials cited in the incident information.
Firefighters respond to Railroad Avenue
The Sunday fire was reported in the same commercial corridor that had already suffered extensive damage less than four weeks earlier.
According to the incident information, Los Angeles County Fire Department crews arrived around 4:30 p.m. and were able to knock down the flames approximately half an hour later.
No injuries were reported.
The available information does not establish the extent of damage caused by Sunday’s fire, whether any vehicles were inside the building or whether neighboring structures were threatened.
Those details remain subject to the ongoing investigation and any subsequent assessment by fire officials.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department serves Newhall through its North Regional operations, which include Newhall and surrounding Santa Clarita Valley communities.
Same location was tied to August’s devastating fire
The significance of Sunday’s incident comes from what happened at the location on August 24.
A major fire swept through Old Town Newhall that morning, damaging or destroying multiple commercial structures.
The City of Santa Clarita later described the August fire as devastating to the Old Town Newhall business community. City officials said the blaze destroyed businesses including Newhall Refinery, Care Tucker Style House and The MAIN, while also affecting the broader community of business owners, employees and artists.
The earlier fire had a much larger footprint than Sunday’s incident.
According to the information provided for this report, the August blaze also destroyed a historic commercial building and spread from the initial location into neighboring structures.
The city has since been working with affected businesses and community organizations on recovery efforts.
Old Town Newhall was still in recovery
Sunday’s fire occurred while the neighborhood was still dealing with the aftermath of the August blaze.
The City of Santa Clarita has described the recovery as an ongoing effort involving businesses, employees, artists and community members.
In a September 5 message, City Manager Ken Striplin wrote that the August fire had caused businesses to lose spaces where owners had invested years of work and employees had lost their workplaces. The city said its focus was on supporting those affected and helping businesses move toward recovery.
The city also organized community events intended to support the recovery.
A September 17 SENSES Block Party expanded farther down Main Street, with a community art wall, a silent auction and other activities benefiting people affected by the August fire.
That event took place only three days before Sunday’s new fire.
The timing adds another layer of uncertainty for a commercial district that had already begun the difficult process of rebuilding and supporting displaced businesses.
Fundraising efforts continue
The August fire generated community fundraising efforts for businesses, employees and artists affected by the destruction.
The City of Santa Clarita has directed residents toward Old Town Newhall recovery resources, including information about fundraising campaigns supporting businesses and individuals affected by the fire.
A community-led effort known as United We Rise has also been raising funds for Newhall Refinery, The MAIN and Care Tucker.
According to the information provided for this report, organizers said net proceeds from that effort would be divided equally among the three affected organizations.
These recovery efforts are separate from Sunday’s fire investigation.
The latest incident has not been linked publicly to the August fire beyond occurring at the same location, and there is no information establishing that the two fires had the same cause.
Cause of new fire remains unknown
The cause of Sunday’s fire has not been determined.
That means it would be premature to characterize the incident as arson or to connect it to the circumstances surrounding the August blaze.
The August fire itself also remains under investigation, according to the information provided for this report, with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Arson and Explosives Detail and Los Angeles County Fire Department officials involved in determining its origin and cause.
Investigators examining the latest incident will likewise need to establish where the fire started, how it developed and whether any evidence points to an accidental, electrical or intentional cause.
No such determination has been publicly established in the information available for Sunday’s fire.
Gary’s Auto Collision Center is listed at the address
Public county records provide additional location context.
A Los Angeles County Fire Department facility listing identifies Gary’s Auto Collision Center at 24247 Railroad Ave., Newhall, matching the address published by the business itself.
The business’s official contact page lists its Newhall location and identifies the company as Gary’s Auto Collision Center.
That does not, by itself, establish that the business was the officially identified structure involved in Sunday’s fire. The source material notes that Los Angeles County Fire officials had not formally identified the business in their public information about the incident.
For that reason, the location should be described carefully as the property associated with Gary’s Auto Collision Center rather than treating the business identity as an official fire-department designation.
A commercial corridor already heavily damaged
Railroad Avenue runs through the historic Old Town Newhall area, where the August fire caused significant disruption.
The city’s September recovery messaging emphasized that Old Town Newhall is an important arts, entertainment and business district and that the loss of the affected businesses had consequences extending beyond the buildings themselves.
The destruction of The MAIN, for example, affected local artists and performers as well as audiences who used the venue.
Newhall Refinery and Care Tucker Style House were also among the businesses identified by the city as having been destroyed in the August fire.
That recovery was already underway when Sunday’s fire occurred.
For nearby businesses, another commercial fire raises obvious concerns about disruption, although the available information does not indicate that Sunday’s incident caused damage on the same scale as the August blaze.
Fire crews contained the latest blaze quickly
The latest response was significantly shorter than the prolonged emergency created by the August fire.
Firefighters reportedly knocked down Sunday’s flames in about 30 minutes.
No injuries were reported.
The available information does not indicate that the latest fire spread to the neighboring businesses that were affected during the August incident.
That difference is important when assessing the two events: Sunday’s fire occurred in the same area and involved a location associated with the earlier blaze, but the known scope of the new incident is considerably narrower based on the information currently available.
Investigators face two separate fire inquiries
Authorities now have two fire investigations connected to the same property and surrounding area.
The August investigation is examining the original blaze that devastated several Old Town Newhall businesses.
The September 20 investigation concerns the new fire that broke out at the auto body shop.
At this point, the available information does not establish that the fires were caused by the same factor.
Investigators will need to rely on physical evidence, fire patterns, witness information and other evidence to determine what happened.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department’s public-records system provides a formal process for requesting department records, including incident-related records, although availability and release can depend on the type and status of the records.
Community recovery continues
Despite the new fire, Santa Clarita’s recovery efforts following the August blaze remain underway.
The city has encouraged residents to continue supporting businesses in Old Town Newhall through visits, purchases and participation in community events.
In its September 5 recovery message, the city emphasized that rebuilding would take time and that local businesses, employees and artists affected by the fire would need continued community support.
The September 17 SENSES event was another example of that effort, bringing residents back to the area while incorporating fundraising and other activities supporting those affected by the earlier blaze.
Sunday’s fire adds a new incident to an area that was already dealing with substantial disruption.
Whether the latest event affects the broader recovery will depend in part on the extent of the damage and the outcome of the investigation.
What remains unknown
Several questions remain unanswered.
Officials have not publicly determined the cause of Sunday’s fire.
The precise extent of property damage has not been established in the information available.
Authorities also have not publicly confirmed whether the latest fire had any connection to the August 24 blaze beyond occurring at the same location.
There were no reported injuries, and firefighters were able to contain the latest fire relatively quickly.
For now, investigators are focused on determining how the September 20 fire started.
Meanwhile, the August fire remains a separate investigation as the Old Town Newhall community continues recovery efforts.
The September 20 fire adds another setback to a Newhall commercial property already associated with one of the area’s most damaging fires of the year. The latest blaze was contained without reported injuries, but its cause remains under investigation.
