Two buildings - including a historic bunk house from the 1800s - were destroyed during a fire Tuesday at a lumber yard in Coyote, a small community just north of Morgan Hill.
Crews raced to battle a two-alarm blaze at Padula Lumber yard at 8149 Monterey Road south of Highway 85 just before 8 a.m., according to Cal Fire Capt. Paul Provence. Firefighters from the South County and San Jose fire departments assisted. Cal Fire contained the fire by 11 a.m., and authorities said the cause of the fire was "under investigation."
Lumber owner Doug Morse told NBC Bay Area that he was in the office when he saw the buildings on his property go up "like a tinderbox." At first, though, he wasn't sure what was happening.
"I thought it was a tree falling that hit a building," Morse said. "Then I heard a small boom, then a large boom. I got out when I could, I grabbed a computer and somethings, and called 911 immediately."
RAW VIDEO: Crews Battle Lumber Yard Fire
Firefighters constructed makeshift "swimming pools," by filling the portable pools with water since there wasn't enough water from nearby hydrants in the small area south of San Jose, known as Coyote. Despite the efforts, the historic bunk house and the company's main building had burned. But no one suffered any injuries.
NBC Bay Area's chopper flew overhead, showing raging flames and billowing smoke. There was another two-alarm fire at this lumber yard in July 2012 that gutted a building and damaged another.
Ironically, hardly any lumber burned in the fire.
NBC Bay Area's Tim Bollinger and Tina Vossugh contributed to this report.
