Strathmore taqueria destroyed in early morning fire, owners hoping to rebuild

STRATHMORE, Calif. (KFSN) -- A taqueria in Strathmore is a total loss after a fire Monday morning.

"At approximately 3:30 this morning we received a report of smoke in the area," said David Cornett with the Tulare County Fire Department.

That smoke was coming from a fire in the building that houses Taqueria La Unica.

"I mean I had just woken up, I mean it's 3 am. So, I was just in shock pretty much. It's devastating once I see my business up in flames. I was planning on coming to work today or tomorrow and that's not possible now," said Victor Villareal, the owner of Taqueria La Unica.

Victor Villareal has run the restaurant out of the building since 2013. His family has owned the property since the 90s.

"I am in shock. We are sad because we are used to working as a family and serving the community," said Maria Villareal.

"She's just in shock, you know, it's sad," Victor added. "I mean, every day, it's just a family business. We come and just enjoy ourselves and enjoy the community."

A devastating blow not long after COVID-19 threatened to shut them down like many other businesses.

"Having it all that time and going through the pandemic, closing down and reopening, getting business going again and to have this all happen, it's kind of heartbreaking, you know?" said Victor.

Tulare County and Porterville Fire contained the flames in an hour but stayed on scene until just before noon.

As for the cause of the fire, officials say it could take a while to figure that out.

"It could take days, weeks, but we're still continuing to investigate," said Cornett.

Villareal says they'll meet with the insurance company to figure out how much is covered.

In the meantime, they have a GoFundMe account set up.