Several businesses in Los Altos have lost it all after a 3-alarm fire devastated the building they were operating in.
It happened on Christmas morning on El Camino Real between North San Antonio Road and Sherwood Avenue. Santa Clara County Fire said they got calls right before 5 a.m. Monday morning. It quickly grew into a 3-alarm fire.
"All of these businesses are here to help the community. And they are all just gone," said Leyna Boissonnade, the owner of Bay Area Dance School.
She is in disbelief. She's had her dance studio in that location for the past 10 years.
"The damage is absolutely horrific. To see the roof caved in," she said.
The building was home to several other businesses including a nail salon, a judo studio and a tutoring center. Investigators say it could take several weeks before they know the cause of the fire.
“Before we go any further on the investigation, what we need to do is we need to demo remove the second story and the first story, and then once that's removed it'll be safe for us to go in," said Jeremy Davis, the assistant fire marshal with Santa Clara County Fire. He's also the lead investigator for this fire.
Davis added that no one can go in the building right now because the walls or second story could collapse at any point. That's also why part of El Camino is closed off and likely will be for weeks.
"If that front wall falls down, we don't want it to fall on traffic," Davis said.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. >Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
Boissonnade said they've lost costumes and equipment, but most of all, they've lost the place where they've created many memories.
Katie Baik grew up going to the studio and came back as an instructor.
"It was really one of the best places, it was a home for so many," Baik said.
They're keeping their positivity though. Boissonnade said families have been supportive, and with that, they'll make it through this.
"The building is gone, but we are still very, very much alive. We will find spaces and we will continue educating and nurturing our students," she said.
Baik started a GoFundMe for the dance studio, and so far, it's raised more than $30,000.
