3-Alarm Blaze Guts Los Alamitos Print Shop : Fire: Damaged electric lines cut power to 2,300 customers. A paper dryer is believed to be at fault.

Investigators are seeking the cause of an estimated $4.7-million fire that gutted a print shop and damaged power lines, leaving more than 2,300 customers without electricity early Monday.

The three-alarm fire at Trend Offset Printing Co., 3722 Catalina St., began about 12:35 a.m. Neighbors, alarmed by the sound of exploding solvent cans, called 911, according to Kathleen Cha, a spokeswoman with the Orange County Fire Department.

“We got multiple calls,” said Cha. “There were a lot of flames coming through the roof. Firefighters from our fire station in Stanton, when they looked out their windows, could see high flames.”

The fire spread from the printing company building in the commercial district to power lines, blowing a circuit and leaving thousands without power for more than two hours, said Chriss Brown, an operations analyst with Southern California Edison.

About 15 employees who were working in the company’s press area when the fire broke out were quickly evacuated. The fire did not spread to adjoining buildings, Cha said.

The apparent source of the fire was a faulty paper dryer, she said.

More than 60 Orange County firefighters battled the blaze for 90 minutes. Also on the scene were two county hazardous materials teams that made sure there was no waste runoff from chemicals inside the building.

One firefighter who was hit on the leg by a piece of roof was treated for a minor leg wound at Los Alamitos Medical Center, Cha said.

Investigators believe the fire was an accident, Cha said.