The fire at the San Jose Home Depot raged at a temperature so hot that it was even visible from space, officials have revealed.
The fire plume also registered on local weather radar, but was confirmed to be “under control” at around 11:45 p.m. local time by the San Jose Fire Department (SJFD), close to seven hours after authorities first got to the scene. The SJFD reported that all Home Depot employees were accounted for and no injuries to either firefighters nor employees were reported.
Those who live in the surrounding area were ordered to shelter in place due to the intense drift smoke, but that order was lifted around 1 p.m. on Sunday. A local pet hospital was also evacuated.
ABC7 News reporter Dustin Dorsey tweeted that the smoke was visible about four miles away in Santa Clara County.
The SJFD also wrote on Twitter that fire investigators were on the scene and would “continue their investigation throughout the night.”
Twitter user Philip Hurst told CNN that he had just finished putting his shopping bags in his car when he heard an uproar and saw people running out of the store. He walked back to the entrance of the store and managed to capture a video of flames dropping down from the ceiling of the store. Hurst says SJFD arrived just minutes after he captured the video.
As for the future of the Home Depot location in San Jose, officials say it’s lost.
"The Home Depot is pretty much a total loss, the roof is pretty much collapsed from the entire structure, so it's going to take some time to get in there if we even can- if it's going to be safe for our people to get in there," said SJFD battalion chief Brad Cloutier.
An investigation into the cause of the incident by the SJFD is currently ongoing.