Remains of 16 Washed Away in Fire at Calif. Crematory

May 22--COLMA -- Rita Barraza De Aguirre's family planned to gather Wednesday -- which would have been the El Sobrante woman's 98th birthday -- at Cypress Lawn cemetery to place her cremated remains into a niche.

But just Monday they said they learned her ashes, along with those of 15 other people, were washed away or mixed together during a three-alarm fire last week that destroyed a crematory at Cypress Lawn. It had been six days since the cemetery's president, in the wake of the fire, said no remains were lost and families would be contacted.

"This is a nightmare," said great-granddaughter Jessica Berrios, 29, of San Francisco. "This is grieving two times. We lost her again."

The crematory burst into flames about 9:30 a.m. May 15 as two bodies were undergoing cremation, authorities said.

It appears the fire was accidental and started around the natural gas-powered crematory, which operates at temperatures up to 1,500 degrees.

Barraza De Aguirre died March 7 and was cremated later that month, Berrios said. Her great-grandmother's ashes were then to be stored in the cemetery's main office on El Camino Real in Colma until the family could place her ashes into a niche. Instead, her ashes were in a box labeled with her name and kept in the crematorium across the street, where water from firefighters' hoses hit them while battling the fire, Berrios said.

The family says the cemetery can't undo what's happened, but it can respect

the memory of those involved.

"We would love if they would offer to put a plaque (so) these people who were washed away will not be forgotten," Berrios said.

According to state regulators, Cypress Lawn's crematory operation hasn't been cited or disciplined since at least 2004. Consumers may have lodged complaints with the California Department of Consumer Affairs, Cemetery and Funeral Bureau, but none resulted in a public reprimand.

Consumer Affairs spokesman Russ Heimerich stopped short of saying the agency would investigate the cemetery over the fire, but he said it's aware of the incident.

"It's safe to say we are going to look into this," he said, noting that he wouldn't be able to comment on any investigations.

Kenneth Varner, president of Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, didn't respond to phone messages seeking comment Tuesday. The day of the fire, he said, apart from the two people being cremated, there were no other remains at the crematory.

"We will notify the families," he said at the time.

For Barraza De Aguirre's family, the loss of her ashes also represents the end of their ability to fulfill a promise.

Daughter Refugio A. Hernandez, 75, of San Francisco, had pledged to reunite her mother and father, Eduardo Aguirre. He is buried in Juarez, Mexico, and the family planned to bring him to the United States, cremate him and inter him with his wife. But now "it's impossible," said Berrios, speaking on behalf of Hernandez.

In what the family says is a final indignity, instead of offering to refund the price of Barraza De Aguirre's niche, the cemetery suggested they simply put a photo of her or some other representation of her in it.

"Accidents happen, but it's the way they handled it," Berrios said. "It's just business."

Contact Joshua Melvin at 650-348-4335. Follow him at Twitter.com/melvinreport.