Car repair shop catches fire Wednesday morning

Fire destroyed most of his roof, but Richard Mares is still in business.

The longtime car repair shop at 14th and Thornton in Clovis – Richard's Auto Service -- caught fire early Wednesday morning, but Mares said the roof took the brunt of the damage. The building is without power, but he's still able to do some work inside and the rest he's continuing at home.

"I'm not giving up," he said Friday morning. "Just like Trump: Fight, fight, fight."

Clovis Fire Department Deputy Chief Terrance Lizardo said the fire began about 2 a.m. Wednesday. Firefighters left the scene about 7 p.m. that evening.

Lizardo said investigators believe the fire began when a heater tipped over.

Mares said most of the main shop area was undamaged. The only vehicle impacted was a U.S. mail truck in for repair that he said "just needs to be cleaned off. It has soot all over it."

He said he felt fortunate. The fire could have been much worse.

"I'm still in business. I've got my jacks and portable power tools. I will be at the shop here, but may work at my house also. The only thing bad is I don't have power, so I can't use the lift."

Mares said he started the business 23 years ago after working for a dealership in town. He sometimes hires help but has no full-time employees.

He plans to rebuild.

"It's a steel building," he said. "All my tools are OK. The walls are fine. The main thing is the roof. That's the main thing that went down. The walls are still pretty good. I can do construction work, too. My dad taught me to do that."