What caused blaze at Walnut Creek lumberyard?

WALNUT CREEK - Investigators spent another day Monday probing what caused a fire that destroyed a Walnut Creek lumberyard whose owners' mounting financial woes put them at risk of foreclosure on several Northern California properties.

Detectives began peeling back mounds of debris on the third day of their investigation at the Piedmont Lumber and Millwork Company on North Main Street. Firefighters quickly quenched some small flare-ups overnight.

Saturday's four-alarm fire immolated more than an acre of building and construction stock, leaving hip-deep flows of sticky, compacted ash and the occasional free-standing wall amid the debris. It destroyed the two-story business and damaged two adjacent ones. Investigators peg the loss around $5 million.

"We are continuing our search for the origin and cause of the fire," Contra Costa County Fire Investigator Vic Massenkoff said. "The structure on the property was about 7,800 square feet, so you can imagine we have quite a task. I expect it will be another one to two days."

The fire was the second at a Piedmont Lumber site in seven months. A suspicious fire erupted in the middle of the night Aug. 21 at the company's Pittsburg facility on Piedmont Way, causing $500,000 in damages. Fire investigators believe it was the work of an arsonist, but have yet to determine who was responsible.

Court records show the lumber company is on the brink of financial ruin.

Umpqua Bank filed a lawsuit in Contra Costa County Superior Court on March 1 against Piedmont Lumber and co-owners William C. Myer Jr. and Victoria Myer, alleging the company is in default on nearly $15 million in loans obtained since 2007. The 14-count complaint seeks judicial foreclosure on Piedmont Lumber properties in Pittsburg, Tracy, Mendocino County and Lake County.

Attempts to reach William and Victoria Myer not immediately successful Monday. No one at Piedmont Lumber headquarters in Pittsburg would comment.

County Costa County records show a bank lien filed March 2 began foreclosure proceedings related to the Pittsburg property.

Another lawsuit was filed federal court March 1 against the company by Northwest Administrations, which handles the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust Fund on behalf of union employees. The complaint alleges that since November, the company has failed to make fringe benefit contributions as required in the union contract.

After hours of digging with a machine shovel and a loader at the Walnut Creek yard Monday, the experts remained well short of the evidence needed to either confirm or rule out arson. Contra Costa Fire District investigators, with help from U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents, focused on a general area toward the rear of the property where the fire likely began.

"We have no evidence as to the specific cause," Massenkoff said. "But there is a lot of physical evidence at this scene. It will take time to study it all."

Massenkoff said the business was closed when the fire started, the second Saturday that Piedmont Lumber had shuttered because of budget issues. He said investigators have no evidence linking Saturday's fire to the earlier blaze at the company's Pittsburg facility.

Staff writer Paul Burgarino contributed to this report. Contact Malaika Fraley atmfraley@bayareanewgroup.com. Contact Karl Fischer at kfischer@bayareanewsgroup.com.