Early morning fire races through 3 El Monte homes, displaces 11
Just after 3 a.m. Wednesday, Los Angeles County firefighters responded to a reported structure fire in the 3900 block of Arden Drive in El Monte. They arrived to find heavy smoke and flames coming from a single-story residence.
A fast-moving fire in El Monte tore through three homes and sent plumes of smoke into the pre-dawn sky while residents fled the flames Wednesday.
The fire was reported about 3 a.m. in the 3900 block of Arden Drive, said Los Angeles County Fire Department dispatch supervisor Michael Pittman.
Responding to a call of a house fire, firefighters arrived on the scene in less than 10 minutes, but by then, the flames had ignited a carport and spread to a home next door and a residence in the back, Pittman said. Video of the blaze showed bright orange and yellow flames shooting from the first home’s windows.
One woman suffered minor burns as she shielded her children from the fire, KTLA reported. The home in the rear of the property was a converted garage, NBC4 reported. The blaze was out in less than an hour, officials said.
About 11 people were displaced by the fire, Pittman said, and the American Red Cross was at the scene to help the families.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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