Police on Thursday said a person of interest is in custody for a public storage facility fire in San Jose.
The three-alarm blaze erupted late Wednesday, sparking a massive plume of smoke that could be seen for miles throughout the city. The fire was contained overnight and authorities are still trying to determine its cause.
The fire was reported shortly after 6 p.m. at Public Storage in the area of Blossom Hill and Cottle roads in South San Jose.
People in the area said they heard explosions at the site of the fire. The explosions were seen miles away and videos of it were posted on social media.
Some San Jose residents described the explosions they heard on Wednesday.
“My windshield was locked. But I feel the sound. A blast sound came out. I was scared something’s wrong going on,” said Babu Prasad of San Jose.
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“I heard some explosion sound. My dad thought it was an earthquake first,” said San Jose resident Jaelyn Ha.
Some people said the blast appeared to be fireworks. But San Jose fire officials said Wednesday night that it was too soon to know what caused the explosions.
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“There were fireworks that were going off as a component of the fire. Whether they were the initial thing that started the fire or there was a fire of another origin that involved fireworks, that’s something our investigators will have to determine,” said SJFD Battalion Chief Brad Cloutier.
Investigators will have to wait until numerous hot spots are knocked down before they can take a closer look.
The fire caused road closures and major traffic delays in the area.
Firefighters said everyone at the facility was accounted for. No injuries were reported.