Along Union Avenue, old, fire-damaged buildings have long been a safety concern, none more notorious than the former La Mirage Motel, which the city is now preparing to tear down.
The former La Mirage Motel has long been a hazard for the community, damaged by fires, and left vacant.
Alexander Clark, the Public Information Officer with the Bakersfield Fire Department says, “We’ve had approximately 18 fires here in the last year. City crews respond each time, put out the fires, and shortly after, another week or two later, there’s another fire. A lot of it is due to the transient population, mainly arson, because this building doesn’t have any electrical, and there’s no power on here.”…