Fire stopped at Indio medical strip mall but extensive damage suspected

A fire that started burning at a strip mall containing several medical offices in central Indio was contained Thursday morning, but did extensive damage to the structure.

Cal Fire wrote on social media that the fire was first reported at 8:15 a.m. at the intersection of Dr. Carreon Boulevard and Monroe Street. The one-story strip mall is located on the southeast side of the intersection and referred to as the "Indio Medical Arts Building." It is located across the street from John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital. Besides medical offices, the strip mall also contains the Indio offices for State Sen. Steve Padilla and an auto insurance sales office.

A public information officer told The Desert Sun that the fire was determined to have been contained at 8:55 p.m. but that firefighters were expected to be on-scene for about three hours to ensure the fire is completely out and try to reduce and assess the damage to the structure and save what contents of the building can be salvaged.

Firefighters had not determined the extent of the damage but Public Information Officer Tawny Castro said firefighters had noted that they were expecting to be doing a lot of salvage and overhaul, which suggests there was significant damage.

Castro said she did not have significant information about where the fire occurred but that firefighters had initially reported seeing smoke coming from the roof and that the fire was initially reported to be burning in two seperate units within the strip mall.

This is a developing story.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Fire stopped at Indio medical strip mall but extensive damage suspected