Maurie Garza lives across the street from what's left of the burned house in Morro Bay and has lived in the neighborhood for more than two decades.
He spoke about his neighbor and said he's also lived there for a long time.
“He was a quiet guy and he kept to himself," said Garza. "Never having any problems. He used to work at a store in Morro Bay and he was always very helpful."
While the person who died in the housefire has not been identified yet, Garza told KSBY News he knew the family very well.
“That family has owned the house forever and I've known that family forever," Garza said. "I went to high school with them. Losing a local and a classmate is a tragedy."
Whether friendly or an acquaintance, losing a neighbor to a house fire can be extremely hard. It is something Morro Bay neighbors are working through.
“It's very tragic and the whole neighborhood feels bad about it,” Mary Silvera, a neighbor said.
Other neighbors have seen him outside of his house walking or getting his mail just like Silveria. She described him as being quiet.
“I would say 'hi' to him if I saw him outside,” Silvera said.
Early Saturday morning, flames broke out in Morro Bay killing one person. Other houses in the area were told to evacuate including Savannah Rhys’s family.
“I heard explosions of the glass and then the police knocked on our door and escorted us around the back of our neighbor's house where we watched it burn for a couple of hours,” Rhys said.
She says the flames were extremely close to their house, even melting some metal on a shed nearby.
“It was a little bit scary and a little bit like you don't know what’s happening,” Rhys said.
Garza shares how upsetting it was for the neighborhood.
“It's a tragedy for all of us to lose anyone in the neighborhood, especially a guy who was as nice as he was,” Garza said.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. KSBY reached out to fire officials for the name of the person and is still waiting to hear back.
