SACRAMENTO, Calif. — After a portion of the strip mall on Florin Road and Franklin Boulevard caught fire Friday morning, nearby residents said the ensuing fire and smoke created a chaotic situation in the area.
Erin Rivera told ABC10 she drove to a laundromat in the area as the fire was dying down and became consumed with smoke as she navigated the parking lot beside the burning building.
"I saw all the police officers, ambulances and smoke, and that's when cars were being diverted. All the streets were closed from Burbank High School to Franklin Boulevard," she said. "Then you were driving through and all you saw was the smoke."
People were running and the scene was pure chaos, Rivera said, with some holding their clothing over their face to avoid breathing in the smoke.
"It was really difficult to breathe, just sheer madness this morning," she said.
While the cause of the fire is currently unknown and Sacramento Fire Department officials are investigating, resident Sierra Magalit-Alexander said homeless encampments have frequented the area near the building and started fires in the past.
"I was concerned about the businesses still in that complex, I never would've thought it would be that big of a fire," said Magalit-Alexander. "About the time that the property got bought a fence went up and I haven't seen any more in that area until yesterday."
Anabety Aguilar worked nearby and saw the fire as it erupted, taking videos on her phone around 4:30 a.m. Friday.
She told ABC10 she heard a loud boom before someone ran to their door asking them to call 911.
"When the fire started, it wasn't as big as how it got. Then we heard a louder boom and the flames just went up," said Aguilar. "I got to work at exactly 3:30 a.m. so nothing was wrong [at the time], everything was fine."
A Sacramento Fire Department spokesperson said no injuries have been reported and thousands of gallons of water were used per minute to fight the flames.
Follow this developing story here.
WATCH MORE: Florin Road strip mall fire | Raw video
