San José Buddhist Temple Destroyed After Second Major Fire in 2 Years

A massive three-alarm fire all but destroyed a San José Buddhist temple on Monday morning, just 20 months after another blaze heavily damaged it.

San José fire officials responded to multiple calls just after 5:30 a.m. at the Chua Duyen Giac temple on Foss Avenue. By the time crews arrived, the two-story building was heavily engulfed. According to the department, the roof fully collapsed during the fire, which was brought under control by about 7 a.m.

The building is a total loss, with the remaining exterior walls at high risk of secondary collapse, said Hannah Denys, a spokesperson for the San José Fire Department.

No one was inside the temple at the time of the fire, and no injuries were reported. The Fire Department’s arson unit is investigating the cause.

For neighbors, including David Ho, who lives directly next to the temple, the morning was a blur of heat and haste.

“I woke up around 5:30 … I saw fire outside. So I got out,” Ho said. “When I came out, the fire was too much, and I had to run.”

Embers melted parts of Ho’s backyard tarp awning, and firefighters had to push through the fence that his home shares with the temple property to get to the blaze. Despite the proximity, Ho’s pet doves and a parrot named Percy survived the ordeal, as did his wife’s many potted plants.

The timing of the disaster was particularly stressful for the Ho family; they had been planning to celebrate his wife Linda’s birthday. Instead, she spent the morning at their daughter’s house to escape the smoke and chaos.

“She [was] scared, so she [went] to my daughter’s house,” Ho said. “I woke her up and told her to go.”

While construction workers were seen on site on Monday morning, Denys clarified they were strictly board-up crews tasked with securing the property. She noted that repairs and compensation for neighbors must be handled through private homeowners’ insurance, for which the department will provide incident information.

This is the second time in less than two years that the Chua Duyen Giac community has faced a devastating fire. A previous blaze in May 2024 caused significant damage to the back of the building.