As people across the country mourned the victims of the Dec. 2 Ghost Ship warehouse fire, and firefighters and sheriff's deputies worked steadily on recovery efforts, Edith Gallegos saw her clientele plummet. The small Mexican restaurant she manages, Hornitos Cafe, sits just outside the four-block area that police cordoned off to all traffic, near a major business district in Oakland's Fruitvale neighborhood.
Less than half of Gallegos' customers showed up during that week due to the traffic closure, she said, and her business lost hundreds of dollars daily. She had to cancel all food deliveries and cut down hours for her kitchen staff.
"We are so sad about the tragic loss of life for so many young people," said Gallegos in Spanish, referring to the fire's 36 victims. "The fire has also affected us because they've closed the street all these days. Clients can't get through -- a lot of them drive here."
After the deadly blaze, auto body shops, restaurants, a clothing store and a handful of other small businesses inside the closed-off area were forced to shut down for at least five days, affecting potentially dozens of low-income employees in this working-class neighborhood.
Oakland's Local Emergency Proclamation, ratified by the City Council on Dec. 8, could help the city recover up to 75 percent of response and recovery expenses related to the deadly blaze, which Oakland is still determining. It may also allow artists who operated a business at the Ghost Ship warehouse, and neighboring shops with revenue losses related to the fire, to access low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration, according to city officials.
