Shopping Center in Tijuana Destroyed by Fire
A shopping center was destroyed Sunday evening in a spectacular fire that sent up a cloud of smoke that could be seen several miles north of the border.
The fire started at about 6:24 p.m. in the Centro Commercial Blanco, located about a mile south of the border on 16th Street in the lower part of the densely populated Colonia Libertad, a Tijuana Fire Department spokesman said. There were reportedly several unexplained explosions while the fire raged.
The entire Tijuana Fire Department responded to the blaze. The fire was brought under control about 9 p.m. with the assistance of four San Diego Fire Department trucks. No employees or customers in the shopping center were reported injured but six or seven firefighters were taken to the general hospital in Tijuana suffering from smoke inhalation, a fire department spokesman said. All were treated and released.
There were 15 or 16 stores in the shopping center, all of which were destroyed in the blaze. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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