Ever since, they\u2019ve been navigating a new world of displacement \u2014 a stress-laced place of stacking unknowns, many residents said. And one that doesn\u2019t pause the need to get to work, care for family or handle other pre-fire responsibilities and routines.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sad. I don\u2019t feel good in my heart. We lost everything. We have zero,\u201d said Raquel S\u00e1nchez, 69, a housecleaner who lived in the building for more than 30 years and is now staying with a son in Napa. \u201cIt\u2019s too long of a drive for me,\u201d she said of her new commute.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Like many residents, S\u00e1nchez returned to her apartment in the days after the fire, sifting through blackened piles of belongings dragged outside by firefighters, grabbing what she could.<\/p>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/20260407_NinethStreet_EG_021.jpg\")
Andrea Garcia, Antonio Flores and Jesus Antonio C\u00e1rdenas stand in front of their apartment building on Tuesday. The three have lived in the building for more than 15 years, and are among the dozens of people displaced by the fire. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for Berkeleyside<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t know what you have until you lose it,\u201d said Jesus Antonio C\u00e1rdenas, 53, owner of Bay Plumbing, who lived in the same building for around 15 years with his wife and two daughters. \u201cIt\u2019s sinking in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, he says, no one was seriously hurt. \u201cThat\u2019s the most important thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Until air quality is deemed nonhazardous, and the building cleared for safe entry, residents are not allowed inside. Assessments are ongoing, said the Berkeley Fire Department, with some units already red-tagged, indicating major structural damage, others yellow-tagged, with lesser destruction, and a couple green-tagged, or unaffected by the fire.\u00a0 Residents must work with the department for permission to enter, based on their unit\u2019s condition.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Help is offered in stages, starting on the sidewalk<\/p>\n
The fire affected a pair of similar, two-story, side-by-side apartment buildings on the 2300 block of Ninth Street, between Bancroft and Channing, with a total of 12 units, six in each building.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Raquel-2.png\")
Raquel S\u00e1nchez, crying outside her apartment building two days after the fire. Credit: Kate Darby Rauch for Berkeleyside<\/p>\n
The southern building, where S\u00e1nchez lived, was severely damaged. The northern building was less affected, and a few residents have already returned.<\/p>\n
The cause has not yet been determined, a Berkeley Fire Department spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
Residents of the more damaged building have been told by their landlord that repairs could take up to a year, according to several tenants.<\/p>\n
Berkeleyside left multiple messages for the southern building\u2019s property manager, 2BLiving<\/a>,\u00a0and its owner, Channing Investor LLC, with no response. There has also been no response from the owner of the northern building, Dvir Brakha.\u00a0<\/p>\n Immediately after the blaze, fire officials said 10 families had been displaced. In an update, the fire department said they aren\u2019t sure of this number. Some extended families lived in more than one unit, and some family members didn\u2019t live there full-time.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to Mig Rampa, disaster manager for the Red Cross<\/a> in Alameda County, a total of 26 people were displaced from the two buildings. Rampa arrived shortly after dawn as the building still smoldered.<\/p>\n \u201cWe got there quick,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The Red Cross, a nonprofit funded entirely by donations, plays a major role in local disasters such as fires, Rampa said, beginning with sending volunteers to the scene.<\/p>\n Shortly after 5 a.m. on March 31, the Berkeley Fire Department alerted the Red Cross to the displaced tenants, setting in motion assistance that can last for several weeks, or at least until residents secure temporary housing.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re probably at the worst time of their lives; we want to make sure they have proper housing to go back to,\u201d Rampa said.<\/p>\n Assistance includes one-on-one case management by trained volunteers who make referrals and explain resources and rights.<\/p>\n Spanish-speaking volunteers are assisting many residents who are not fluent in English.<\/p>\n The Red Cross also distributed $650 debit cards or cash to each displaced family at the scene. The amount is calculated by an algorithm that factors in the extent of damage, and the costs of likely immediate needs per household.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe money is for them to do what they like,\u201d Rampa said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey also told us our rights, and offered us mental health support,\u201d said Alexa C\u00e1rdenas, one of Jesus C\u00e1rdenas\u2019 daughters, who was home from college for spring break when the fire broke out.<\/p>\n Through the California Fire Foundation\u2019s SAVE program<\/a> \u2014 Supplying Aid to Victims of Emergency \u2014 the Berkeley Fire Department also distributed $250 gift cards.<\/p>\n \u201cThis program enables first responders to offer immediate relief and comfort to victims of catastrophic loss due to fire or other natural disasters,\u201d said Deputy Fire Chief Keith May.<\/p>\n The cards are given to residents whose homes sustained at least 25% damage, he said.<\/p>\n Long-term housing is a pressing concern<\/p>\n The prompt financial assistance helped cover urgent needs \u2014 food, jackets, cellphone chargers and, for a few, a hotel room. Most residents are staying with family or friends in nearby areas such as Richmond, El Sobrante and Napa.<\/p>\n One of the most pressing concerns is longer term housing.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere am I going to pay the same rent?\u201d said S\u00e1nchez, whose decades on Ninth Street meant relatively low rent under Berkeley\u2019s rent control. She said she was paying $678 a month for her two-bedroom apartment. According to the city\u2019s rent registry, initial or starting rents at her building range from about $550 to $2,000 a month.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cRealistically, the most important thing is finding a place to sleep; we\u2019re staying at my sister\u2019s [in Richmond] and it\u2019s not the same as having your own place,\u201d said Antonio Flores through his nephew Eduardo, who was translating from Spanish.\u00a0<\/p>\n Antonio Flores and Jesus C\u00e1rdenas, brothers-in-law, lived in different upstairs-downstairs units with family in the now gutted building.\u00a0<\/p>\n Flores, 65, a retired custodian at Berkeley\u2019s International House, lived in the building for about 20\u00a0years. Eduardo, 27, who works for his uncle Jesus C\u00e1rdenas\u2019 plumbing company, also often stayed with Flores.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMy uncle has no clothes. Today we went to a store and bought a toothbrush and toothpaste,\u201d Eduardo said.<\/p>\n The property manager of the southern building has been in regular contact with tenants since the fire, several residents said.<\/p>\n But he\u2019s giving conflicting information, they said.<\/p>\n Some said he told them the landlord would pay any rent difference between their Ninth Street rent and new lodgings for three months, then they\u2019re on their own. Others said he didn\u2019t put a time limit on the rent differential.<\/p>\n The manager also distributed $900 checks, but many residents said they were unsure what accepting the money might mean and feared it could affect their right to return. Some declined or did not cash the checks.<\/p>\n \u201cHe offered it to her to help move and store items, but she never accepted it,\u201d said Osbaldo S\u00e1nchez, Raquel S\u00e1nchez\u2019s son.<\/p>\n Some tenants told Berkeleyside that rent board counselors advised them not to cash the $900 checks without legal guidance and referred them to the East Bay Community Law Center<\/a>. Berkeleyside has reached out to the law center, and hasn\u2019t yet heard back.<\/p>\n Berkeley tenants get rent subsidy for temporary lodging, right to move back <\/p>\n Berkeley\u2019s relocation ordinance<\/a> governs tenant and landlord responsibilities when renters must relocate due to damage or emergencies.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u200b\u200bLocal regulations build on state law, primarily under the Tenant Protection Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAt a baseline, tenants have the right to a habitable unit,\u201d said D\u00e9Seana Williams, executive director of the Berkeley Rent Board.<\/p>\n The board is assisting all or most displaced residents, including offering services in Spanish, she said.<\/p>\n Under the ordinance, property owners must pay the difference between a displaced tenant\u2019s temporary rent and their original rent until the unit is habitable \u2014 with no set time limit.<\/p>\n Tenants also have the right to return once repairs are complete. In general, they\u2019re continuing their tenancy under the same rent rates as before relocation. But in some situations, rent increases are possible. In most cases, landlords are responsible for relocation assistance, including moving and storage costs.<\/p>\n \u201cThe exact rights and responsibilities in any given case will depend on factors such as the extent of the damage, the anticipated duration of repairs and the cause of the fire,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n If a building cannot be repaired, different rules apply, but displaced tenants are generally entitled to higher relocation assistance from landlords than if moving back.<\/p>\n A GoFundMe<\/a> campaign organized by a neighbor had raised over $24,000 at the time of writing. The organizer declined to comment, but said in an update on the crowdfunding site that half the funds will go to residents of the most damaged units, with the rest distributed among other affected tenants.<\/p>\n Praying his \u2018Rosa Mystica\u2019 Virgin Mary statuette survived the fire Finding housing is a constant worry for Antonio Flores, now staying with family in Richmond.<\/p>\n But another concern weighs heavily: the fate of his collection of small religious statuettes tied to his Catholic faith. Often referred to simply as \u201cla Virgens.\u201d<\/p>\n Among them is a treasured Rosa Mystica statue \u2014 a special symbolic name for the Virgin Mary \u2014 brought to California decades ago by his mother from the family\u2019s home pueblo Tepatitl\u00e1n de Morelos in Jalisco, Mexico. She has a handmade crown, Flores recalls.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat my uncle wants most is to go inside and retrieve the statuettes,\u201d Eduardo Flores said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey aren\u2019t important to most people, but they hold a lot of memories of my grandmother.\u201d<\/p>\n Eduardo added: \u201cWe would make fun of him because he had so many figures in there, it was like a church.\u201d<\/p>\n Antonio Flores has some hope. He was in Mexico visiting a sick sister (with Eduardo) when the fire broke out, and firefighters told him his bedroom \u2014 where the statues were kept \u2014 may be less damaged than the rest of the apartment, which was ruined.\u00a0<\/p>\n His brother, Luis Flores, who works at the nearby Caff\u00e9 Chiave, was in the apartment the night of the fire. \u201cWe took some things out, our papers, a photo of my mom. It was so quick,\u201d Luis Flores said. There was no time to go into his brother\u2019s room.<\/p>\n Residents do not yet know when \u2014 or even if \u2014 they will be allowed back inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re kind of lost because [the city says], \u2018We\u2019ll let you know in a week or two,\u2019\u201d Eduardo said.<\/p>\n They should start learning more soon from the fire department, a spokesperson said. Short visits accompanied by fire department staff are allowed now in yellow-tagged units.<\/p>\n When Antonio and Eduardo Flores returned from Mexico, they rushed to the building: scorched walls, boarded-up windows, the smell of soot. Toilets and refrigerators were being removed by work crews.<\/p>\n They peered into their apartment as best they could.<\/p>\n \u201cWe saw inside, and it was kind of like a burst of reality.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRelated stories<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\tBerkeley Hills fire last month started in a wood pile outside a home<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\tApril 9, 2026April 9, 2026, 12:49 p.m.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\tWest Berkeley fire torches 2 apartment buildings, displaces 10 families<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\tMarch 31, 2026March 31, 2026, 7:36 p.m.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/20260407_NinethStreet_EG_013.jpg\")
Jesus Antonio C\u00e1rdenas stands outside his boarded up apartment unit on Tuesday. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for Berkeleyside<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_9480-2560x1920.jpg\")
A team from the Red Cross talks to displaced tenants hours after the fire. Credit: Tracey Taylor\/Berkeleyside<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/6A419D07-75B5-40A4-AE9B-8C41508AA0BB-2-2560x3413.jpg\")
A photo of her son and toys of her granddaughter are among Raquel S\u00e1nchez\u2019s fire-damaged belongings, dragged to the front of her apartment after the March 31 fire. Credit: Kate Darby Rauch for Berkeleyside<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/20260407_NinethStreet_EG_003.jpg\")
Antonio Flores, 65, outside his building. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for Berkeleyside
\nApartment manager handed out $900 checks but many residents are afraid to cash them<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/20260407_NinethStreet_EG_015.jpg\")
A sign declaring the property unsafe hangs outside of C\u00e1rdenas\u2019 apartment. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for Berkeleyside<\/p>\n
\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/20260407_NinethStreet_EG_011.jpg\")
Flores looks at a photo of a statuette that was saved from his apartment. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for Berkeleyside<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_7185-preview-2560x1920.jpg\")
Luis Flores, back at work at Caff\u00e9 Chiave days after the fire. Credit: Kate Darby Rauch for Berkeleyside<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/20260407_NinethStreet_EG_010.jpg\")
Antonio Flores looks at a photo of the fire damage in his apartment. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for Berkeleyside<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Berkeley](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775929818_313_Fire-1.png\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"West](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/img_9479_720.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Berkeley](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_8727-scaled.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n