Police investigating flood at Turlock student apartment complex
Turlock police investigators are looking into the possibility a weekend water leak at a student apartment complex was the result of vandalism.
But police spokesman Sgt. Russ Holeman said investigators have not ruled out the water leak at The Vista was caused by some type of mechanical malfunction at the complex on West Monte Vista Avenue, near the California State University, Stanislaus campus.
"And that's what we're trying to determine," Holeman said Tuesday. "We're in the preliminary stages of the investigation."
The Turlock Police Department's 24-hour patrol report posted online written by two supervising sergeants indicated that authorities found the source of the flooding.
"It appears there were several valves that were intentionally turned on causing flooding throughout the entire west half of the building," the sergeants wrote in their report.
The west side of The Vista's Building A sustained extensive water damage, according to the patrol report. Police officials estimated that more than 100 residents were evacuated as a precaution. They were temporarily housed in the apartment complex recreational center. Some of them were moved to other housing, including local hotels.
Major flooding was reported at the complex at 12:55 a.m. Sunday. The Turlock Fire Department arrived and found a water leak in an interior stairwell.
Capt. Kevin Tidwell, a Turlock Fire Department spokesman, said Tuesday the majority of the flooding was found in the area of the interior stairwell. The department released video footage of firefighters entering the flooded areas of the building.
The firefighters assessed the leak and turned off several water mains to stop the flowing water. They also turned off electricity to the west side of the complex because of the flooding.
Turlock police officers helped the firefighters get residents out of the flooded apartments. No injuries were reported.
Tidwell said the video showed firefighters looking into a small window of one door and seeing water higher than the handle on the side of the door. The video also showed firefighters open an exterior door, and a large amount of water gushed out of the building.
The fire captain said he was not authorized to release any more information about the flooding the firefighters encountered and what might have caused the water leak.
Courtney Jurasko, a manager at The Vista apartment complex, on Tuesday refused to answer any other questions about the flooding incident. But she did say it appeared the water leak was the result of vandalism.
She declined to say if the displaced residents that were evacuated early Sunday have been allowed to return to their homes. Jurasko also declined to discuss the extent of the damage to the flooded portions in the building or the repairs to the building that continued for the third consecutive day.
Jurasko referred all questions to her supervisor, Ben Diddier of the apartment complex's corporate management firm based in Houston, Texas, Asset Campus Housing. Responding to questions from The Bee, officials from Asset Campus Housing issued a news release about the flooding incident Tuesday evening.
Apartments adjacent to the flooded stairwell had some flooding, but those on the first floor sustained a significant amount of water damage. As a result, The Vista staff made temporary housing arrangements for 30 students until their apartments could be restored. Officials said the majority of those displaced residents have returned to their apartments.
The news release indicated that The Vista management was working with authorities to identify who is responsible for the flooding, which they called the result of "a single act of vandalism." The property staff has begun the process of installing locking valve mechanisms that will prevent this from happening again.
The large apartment complex includes three four-story apartment buildings. Residents moved-in for the first time in Mid-August. The gated community was built on nearly 10 acres at 900 West Monte Vista Avenue, across the street from the Stanislaus State campus.
The apartments are available to rent only for students, serving those enrolled at Stanislaus State, Modesto Junior College, Merced College and the Universirty of California at Merced. The Vista has the capacity to house 660 students in its 180 apartments, which vary from single-person studios to four bedroom units with private bathrooms.
This story was originally published January 16, 2018 at 5:22 PM with the headline "Police investigating flood at Turlock student apartment complex."