Crews Battle Blaze on Katella Avenue

About 20 people had to be evacuated from a Katella Avenue strip mall today when an apparent electrical fire broke out in a utility closet connecting a liquor store and dry cleaners.

No one was injured, and the damage was not extensive, but the fire backed up Katella Avenue for miles as crews battled the blaze, which started shortly before 4 p.m.

A liquor store, , the jewelry store and the all had to be evacuated, said Orange County Fire Authority Battalion Chief Bill Lockhart.

“A patron of the center heard a pop and saw smoke coming from the back of a utility room, and we arrived to find a fire in the utility room,” Lockhart said.

At least four engines including crews from the Orange County Fire Authority and the Garden Grove Fire Department arrived to put out the fire within moments.

Tina Lu was working insider her dry cleaners when she suddenly smelled the smoke.

“I started looking around the store, and a few minutes later, I saw smoke coming from the electrical circuits.”

As she watched the fire fighters battle the blaze Lu worried about smoke and water damage to her customers’ clothes. “I just hope the clothes are okay,” she said. “I hope that none of the water got on the clothes.”

Patron Laura Schmitz also worried about the clothes.

“I was on my way home from work, and I was wondering what all the traffic was about. I came to pick up my clothes and saw this,” said Schmitz. “Hopefully the clothes are okay, but they’re only clothes. It looks like it could have been a lot worse. At least no one was hurt.”

Arson investigators are examining the cause of the fire, and police are working with business owners to make sure the businesses are secure despite the electrical issues, said Capt. Bruce McAlpine, Los Alamitos Police Department spokesman.