House fire on Banta Road causes short power outage

A house fire broke out shortly after 11 a.m. in Imperial this morning.

Firefighters responded to the 500 block of Banta Road where they found a small home fully engulfed in flames.

Neighbors tell News 11 an older gentleman who appears to be homeless occupies the home.

“I was eating breakfast, I just heard like a pass and that’s when I came back outside. It’s kind of weird, this happening you know. I’m afraid he might be in there or maybe the dogs in there too,” said Carolina Romero, resident of Imperial.

“When I arrived on scene I did confirm that it was fully involved. I activated another engine from our station 3 and then one single resource out of El Centro Fire,” said Danny Stauf, Battalion Chief with Imperial County Fire Department.

Officials tell News 11 the cause of the fire is still under investigation and our team asked if anyone was inside when they arrived.

“At this time we don’t know that, we do have the owner of the residence, she’s here right now. We’re still talking to her and gathering more information at this time,” explained Stauf.

Imperial Irrigation District was also on scene as a short power outage affected nearby homes in the area.

“There was live power, we did contact IID, and representatives of the gas company also did come out. The power is back on; the main line is the one you see above us right now, is on. The only power is the power to the residence which has been isolated and shut off,” added Stauf.

“There was no electricity in the house, so there’s no electricity, there’s no light. Maybe someone passed by with bottle and just threw it, you know, i don’t know. It’s just kind of weird what’s going on, it’s a mystery,” said Romero.