ANAHEIM HILLS APARTMENTS REOPEN
The Cascades, an Anaheim Hills apartment complex partially devoured in a 2008 wildfire, has been rebuilt, the owner has announced.
The Cascades was one of several communities to feel the brunt of a swift-moving blaze that hopscotched from Corona through the Santa Ana Canyon. Sixty units in six buildings were damaged or destroyed, leaving dozens of families homeless.
The 60 restored apartments are part of a 292-unit complex just south of the Riverside Freeway.
“We have several residents who have moved back in after their apartments were burned,” said complex manager Pat Caldwell. “We’re thrilled that so many of our residents were not driven off by this disaster. It was terrible but could have been far worse. Now, the property is as beautiful as before.”Apparently sparked early Nov. 15, 2008, by a car’s catalytic converter in Corona, the wind-whipped fire quickly spread to Yorba Linda, Anaheim Hills and Brea. By evening that day, a colossal column of black smoke churned skyward above the eastern end of the 91 freeway.
The blaze blackened nearly 30,000 acres, destroyed at least 155 homes and damaged another 104. In Anaheim Hills, 48 apartments were destroyed and 48 were damaged, fire officials said.
At one point, the fire jumped the freeway and ignited the Cascades’ 20-year-old wood-framed buildings.
Officials with the complex’s property management firm, Sares-Regis Group, said they made dozens of calls to operators of nearby apartment complexes to relocate many of their tenants.
In addition to the new buildings, amenities were added along with the renovation of several common areas. The Cascades has two pools and spas, a new sports court with a basketball hoop. It has a new and larger clubhouse with a fitness center, kitchen, big-screen TV, a business center, play area and an outdoor fireside lounge.
“There’s not a trace of damage,” Caldwell said. “Today, the challenge is the market, which is more competitive than ever.”
Information Provided By The Orange County Register
