Old Town Newhall Fire: Legal Rights for Affected Businesses
If your business, property, or livelihood was destroyed in the August 24 Main Street fire, you may have rights beyond your insurance policy. The Wagner Law Group has recovered $300 million+ for our clients. Call (833) 200-7111 or contact us below for a free consultation — no fee unless we win.
Supporting Old Town Newhall
Before anything else: the businesses that lost everything on Main Street have set up ways for the community to help, and their employees are out of work with no notice.
- Rebuild Newhall Refinery
- Emergency fund for Newhall Refinery staff
- Help Care and Jonny rebuild Care Tucker Style House
Neighboring Main Street businesses – offering kitchen and event space to owners with commitments they can no longer keep, and accepting résumés from displaced staff.
What We Know
Last updated: August 26, 2026. The investigation is ongoing and facts may change.
- When: reported at approximately 2:54 a.m. on Monday, August 24, 2026
- Where: the 24200 block of Main Street, Old Town Newhall, Santa Clarita
- Scale: a three-alarm commercial fire drawing more than 100 Los Angeles County firefighters, with a partial roof collapse
- Structure: a single-story, seven-unit commercial building
- Businesses affected: The Newhall Refinery, The MAIN theatre, Gary’s Auto Collision Center, Care Tucker Style House, El Trocadero Kitchen and Grill, and others
- Injuries: none reported among firefighters, employees or residents
- Cause: undetermined. Initial reports indicated the fire may have begun in the unit occupied by an auto body shop, but Los Angeles County officials subsequently stated the origin remains under investigation. Sheriff’s Department arson investigators responded to the scene, which is standard practice for a fire of this size and does not itself indicate the fire was intentionally set.
No determination of cause or fault has been made. There has been considerable speculation in local media and on social media about how this fire started. Investigators have not confirmed any of it.
Why the Building Itself Matters
This is the question most likely to determine whether anyone can recover beyond their own insurance policy, and it has little to do with which tenant’s unit the fire started in.
When a fire begins in one unit of a multi-tenant commercial building and destroys six others, the central legal issue is usually why it spread. Buildings are supposed to be built and maintained so that fire is contained — through rated fire separation walls between units, functioning sprinkler systems, adequate fire-stopping at penetrations in shared walls and roof spaces, and compliance with the fire code applicable to the structure.
Older commercial buildings in historic districts are frequently the exception. They may predate sprinkler requirements. Renovations over decades may have compromised fire separations. Shared attic or roof space above the demising walls is a classic path for rapid horizontal spread — and it is a classic finding in fire origin-and-cause investigations.
If a building owner failed to maintain code-required fire protection, that is a potential claim by every tenant in the building, including the one whose unit the fire started in.
Questions worth asking about this building:
- Was it equipped with a sprinkler system, and was that system operational?
- Were the demising walls between units fire-rated, and did they extend fully through the roof space?
- Had renovations been permitted and inspected?
- Were there prior fire code violations or citations?
- Did the landlord know of any hazardous condition and fail to address it?
These answers exist in permit records, inspection histories, and the physical evidence at the scene. That evidence is being cleared right now.
Preserve Evidence Immediately
This is the most time-sensitive thing on this page. Fire scenes get demolished. Debris gets hauled. Insurance carriers and their experts inspect early, and once the scene is gone, it is gone permanently.
If you are an affected business owner:
- Do not authorize demolition or debris removal without first notifying anyone who may have a claim and giving them an opportunity to inspect. Destroying evidence before other parties can examine it — even inadvertently — can seriously damage your own case and expose you to spoliation claims.
- Photograph and video everything now, from as many angles as access permits.
- Ask your insurer in writing when their cause-and-origin expert will inspect, and request that you or your representative be present.
- Preserve your lease, and every communication you ever had with your landlord about the building’s condition, maintenance, sprinklers, electrical, or repairs. Emails complaining about building issues are evidence.
- Write down what you remember about the building — anything you noticed about wiring, alarms, sprinklers, prior small fires, or work being done. Memory fades fast.
- Keep your books. Tax returns, P&Ls, POS reports, payroll records. Business interruption claims live or die on documentation of what you were earning before.
Your Insurance Claim Comes First
Regardless of who is ultimately found responsible, your own policy is the fastest path to money, and it is available now. Commercial policies typically include several distinct coverages that many owners never fully claim:
- Building and business personal property — inventory, equipment, furniture, fixtures
- Tenant improvements and betterments — the buildout you paid for in a space you leased. This is frequently the single largest and most overlooked category.
- Business interruption — lost profits during the period of restoration, plus continuing expenses like rent and payroll
- Extra expense — the cost of operating temporarily somewhere else, expediting replacement equipment, or setting up an interim location
- Civil authority coverage — losses caused by an order closing access to the area
- Ordinance or law coverage — the additional cost of rebuilding to current code, which matters enormously in an older building
- Debris removal
Practical points that cost business owners real money:
- Open the claim immediately and get a claim number. Policies contain their own notice deadlines, often much shorter than any legal deadline.
- Request a certified complete copy of your policy in writing — the full policy, not the declarations page. You cannot evaluate an offer without it.
- Understand the period of restoration. Business interruption is usually measured by how long it should reasonably take to rebuild — not how long it actually takes, and not how long you are out of business. Insurers frequently define that period far more narrowly than reality.
- Do not give a recorded statement without understanding how it will be used.
- Document every contact with your carrier: date, time, name, substance. Confirm important calls by email.
- Be careful with early offers. A quick check that feels like relief in week two can look very different once you understand the full scope of your loss.
An insurance claim and a claim against a responsible third party are separate tracks that can run at the same time. Accepting insurance proceeds does not automatically forfeit your right to pursue a negligent party — though your insurer will likely assert a subrogation interest in any recovery, which is one more reason to have someone reviewing the whole picture.
Who May Be Legally Responsible
Until investigators determine a cause, this is a list of possibilities, not accusations. Depending on what the investigation finds, potentially responsible parties in a commercial fire of this kind can include:
- The building owner or property manager, for failure to maintain code-required fire protection, sprinklers, fire separations, or electrical systems
- A tenant whose operations, storage of flammable materials, or equipment negligently caused a fire that spread
- A contractor or electrician whose work created a hazard
- A utility, where electrical infrastructure is implicated
- A manufacturer, where defective equipment or wiring failed
- A maintenance or fire protection company that inspected or serviced systems that did not function
Determining which, if any, applies requires an independent origin-and-cause investigation — not a press release and not a comment section.
An Honest Word About Who Can Actually Recover
California law draws a line here that matters, and it is one many people are surprised by.
If your property was physically damaged, you can generally recover both that damage and the economic losses that flow from it — lost profits, lost inventory, the cost of relocating. That is the core claim for the businesses in this building.
If you suffered only economic loss with no physical damage, recovery is much harder. Under California’s economic loss rule, a party who suffers purely financial harm from someone else’s negligence — without any damage to their own person or property — generally cannot recover in negligence. In practice this means an employee who lost a job, or a nearby business that lost foot traffic while the street was closed but sustained no damage, usually does not have a viable negligence claim against whoever caused the fire.
There are exceptions and the analysis is fact-specific, so it is worth asking rather than assuming. But we would rather tell you that up front than let you spend weeks expecting something that is not likely to materialize.
Deadlines
California generally allows three years to file a claim for injury to real or personal property, and two years for personal injury. Contract claims — including claims under your own insurance policy — carry their own deadlines, and policies frequently contain a contractual suit limitation period that is shorter than the statute.
If any public entity is involved, a government claim must typically be presented within six months, which is far shorter than most people expect.
The practical deadline is much sooner than any of these. Evidence at the scene is being cleared now, and the window to preserve it is measured in days.
How The Wagner Law Group Can Help
Santa Clarita is in Los Angeles County, and we are a California firm — we can represent affected businesses and property owners here directly, without referring your case elsewhere.
Fire litigation is a core part of our practice. We have represented California fire victims against well-resourced defendants, including wildfire claims against utility companies, and our founding attorney has more than 42 years of trial experience. That work turns on the same discipline a commercial fire case requires: independent origin-and-cause investigation, preserving physical evidence before it disappears, reconstructing what a property owner knew and when, and proving economic loss with documentation that holds up.
What working with us looks like:
- A free consultation, in person, by phone, or by video
- An honest assessment of whether you have a claim worth pursuing — including telling you if you do not
- Immediate steps to preserve evidence at the scene
- Coordination with your insurance claim rather than interference with it
- No fee unless we recover for you
- Rated 4.7 stars across 90+ verified Google reviews
If all you need is a question answered about your policy or your lease, ask. There is no cost and no obligation.
Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case. Every claim depends on its own facts.
Frequently Asked Questions
My business burned but I have insurance. Do I need a lawyer?
Not necessarily. If your carrier is paying your loss fully and promptly, you may not need one. It becomes worth a conversation when the offer is materially less than your loss, when business interruption is being calculated on a restoration period that does not match reality, when tenant improvements are being undervalued, when the claim is delayed without explanation, or when a third party may be responsible for the fire.
Can I sue if the fire started in someone else’s unit?
Potentially, yes — that is one of the more common commercial fire claims. It depends on whether the fire resulted from someone’s negligence and on why it spread through the building. Both questions require the origin-and-cause investigation to develop. No determination has been made in this fire.
Was this fire arson?
No one has said so. Sheriff’s Department arson investigators responded to the scene, which is routine for a commercial fire of this size and does not mean the fire was intentionally set. Officials have stated only that the cause remains under investigation.
I lost my job when my workplace burned. Do I have a claim?
Against the party that caused the fire, usually not. Under California’s economic loss rule, purely financial harm without damage to your own person or property is generally not recoverable in negligence. You may, however, be eligible for unemployment benefits, and the affected businesses’ community fundraisers are directing money to displaced staff. If you were physically injured or lost personal property in the building, that is a different situation and worth asking about.
My landlord says the lease makes this my problem. Is that right?
Maybe not. Commercial leases often contain waiver of subrogation clauses, indemnity provisions, and allocations of insurance responsibility that affect who bears what. Those provisions are not always enforceable as written, and they do not necessarily bar a claim based on the landlord’s own failure to maintain the building. Have someone read the actual lease before accepting that answer.
How long do I have to act?
California generally allows three years for property damage claims and two years for personal injury, but your insurance policy likely contains a shorter contractual deadline, and any claim involving a public entity typically requires presentation within six months. The more urgent deadline is evidentiary — the scene is being cleared now.
What does it cost?
The consultation is free. We handle these matters on contingency, meaning no attorney’s fee unless we recover for you.
Serving Santa Clarita and Los Angeles County
The Wagner Law Group represents clients throughout Los Angeles County, including Santa Clarita, Newhall, Valencia, Saugus, Canyon Country, Castaic and Stevenson Ranch, with offices in Fresno and South Lake Tahoe and cases handled statewide.
Call (833) 200-7111 for a free consultation, or reach us below.
This page is attorney advertising and is provided for general informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is formed by reading it or by submitting the contact form. The Wagner Law Group does not represent, and does not claim to represent, any business or individual named on this page. Information regarding the August 24, 2026 Main Street fire reflects publicly reported accounts as of August 26, 2026 and is subject to change as the investigation continues. No determination has been made by any authority regarding the cause of this fire or the responsibility of any party, and nothing on this page should be read to suggest that any identified business, property owner, or other party caused or is liable for the fire. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case.
