Three Blazes Cause $730,000 in Damage : Fires: Two stores are destroyed in a shopping center. Two homes are damaged, leaving one man injured.

Three blazes on New Year’s morning, including a stubborn fire that destroyed two stores in a strip shopping center, caused a total loss of $730,000 and injury to one resident, the Garden Grove Fire Department reported.

The injured man was identified as Russell Stauter, 68, a resident of a single-family home at 11572 Capri Drive. That home caught fire shortly after midnight Friday morning, firefighters said.

According to Battalion Chief Joe Chandler, Stauter suffered smoke inhalation and was treated at a Garden Grove hospital. Stauter was among residents of the house who had to be evacuated because of the fire, Chandler said.

Chandler said the fire started when a cigarette was thrown into a trash can inside the house. Fire from the trash can spread to a bedroom and the attic, Chandler said. He estimated $75,000 damage to the building and $50,000 to contents.

The strip shopping center blaze occurred at 12152 Brookhurst St. at 3:05 a.m. and took about four hours to extinguish, Chandler said. Cause of the fire was not immediately determined and is under investigation, he said.

Chandler said two stores--Quality Furniture and K.B. Video--in the shopping center were destroyed by the fire. An insurance agency had “moderate damage,” Chandler said.

Chandler estimated $600,000 total fire damage in the shopping center.

The third fire occurred at 8:54 a.m. Friday and was at a residence at 13281 Magnolia St., Chandler said. He said an electrical short in a hallway wall started the blaze and caused an estimated $5,000 in damage.