SAN ANTONIO, Texas — A fire that burned down a business in the Thompson community on the west side is causing more problems.
The fire happened on June 30 and now scavengers are showing to take what's left.
"It's saddening. It's saddening because we know that that's not there anymore," said Rudy Lopez, vice president of the Thompson Neighborhood Association.
Lopez and Patricia Herrera grew up in the neighborhood and have memories of driving by and walking in this building.
"What I remember was the daycare. It was a very active time, that's when Kelly Air Force Base was open at the time," said Lopez.
"My mom put me in here for a few months. The teachers were extraordinary," Herrera.
From a daycare, a snack shop, to a private workshop for arts and crafts is now a pile of rubble.
Patricia and Rudy have seen scavengers showing up.
We see it every day. We can tell that that debris has gone from being back there to coming closer and closer to the street,
Rudy and Patricia are starting to see people dumping their trash beside the rubble causing problems for nearby businesses.
"The lady that owns the business next to us is the fajita taco place. She really, truly needs it cleaned up. What she's scared of is that the pest that are in there now are going to go over to her place, and she doesn't want that," said Lopez.
KENS 5 reached out to the owner of the building that burned down who was unavailable to comment.
Thompson Neighborhood Association President Jose Gallegos says the scavenging puts the owner at risk.
"If a scavenger were to be injured, heaven forbid that she would be singled out or sued for liability," said Gallegos.
Multiple calls have been made to deter scavengers from showing up.
Rudy and Patrica say while it's sad to see a piece of history gone, the neighborhood has to move on.
"We want it cleaned up fast. It can't stay like this. It just can't. It's just hurting the community now," said Lopez.
The Thompson Neighborhood Association got an update from the city on July 11 that the building is scheduled for clean-up after June 15th.
The association says the owner is in agreement with the city doing this work.