2 injured in three-alarm fire at strip mall in Moreno Valley

Investigators are trying to determine the cause of a massive three-alarm fire at a strip mall in Moreno Valley that injured two people.

The Cal Fire / Riverside County Fire Department said that the fire broke out around 5:25 p.m. Wednesday inside an abandoned supermarket near the intersection of Alessandro Blvd. and Indian St.

The building was gutted by the fire, but firefighters said damage to the surrounding business was minimal.

"Thankfully this building is cinder block and has good fire rated walls," said Moreno Valley Fire Chief Jesse Park. "We were able to keep it to the building of origin, so just light smoke damage to adjacent structures."

Park said weather conditions were also favorable, allowing firefighters to knock the blaze down within four hours.

"We did have some light rain, and that's going to help. Not being hot, dry, and windy always helps."

The owners of a pet store next door to the abandoned supermarket said several businesses in the strip mall were evacuated out of concerns that the massive fire would spread.

"It was super big," said Michael Wahl, co-owner of Wet Pets. "Everybody in the complex had to evacuate because it looked like it was spreading to everything."

While the cause of the fire is still unknown, Wahl said the building was known to be occupied by a homeless encampment.

"There were a lot of homeless people living in there. They were building structures inside there."

The fire department said two people were rescued from the roof, treated at the scene, and then taken to the hospital.

While there is no indication there were any fatalities in the fire, cadaver dogs were scheduled to be brought to the scene to make sure no one perished in the blaze.