Officials ID Man Found Dead During Capitola House Fire

CAPITOLA, CA — A man who was found dead during a Sunday morning house fire has been identified by the Santa Cruz Sheriff's Office as Gabriel Dixon, 40, of Capitola. The blaze, which was reported in the 700 block of Sunset Drive at 12:24 a.m., also threatened a neighbor's property. Although crews with the Central Fire Protection District of Santa Cruz County were able to contain the blaze to the bedroom, hallway and attic space, the home is uninhabitable.

Dixon's body was found during the firefighting operations and was turned over to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff-Coroner's Office for an autopsy. A dead cat was also found during the fire.

The fire took 30 minutes to contain and an hour to fully control. A second home on the property was not damaged. The cause of the fire is under investigation and investigators are looking into reports that electrical power fluctuations were reported in the neighborhood prior to the fire.

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