Fire Destroys 99 Cents Only Store

Over 80 Firefighters from the Culver City Fire Department and nearby agencies battled a fire that totally consumed the 99 cents only store near the corner of Washington Blvd and Washington Place.

The fire was reported at 1:45 am. Firefighters were removed from inside the building and the roof as the structure began to collapse. By early morning three of the four walls had caved it. No one was inside the building at the time and there were no reported injuries according to the Culver City Police Department,

The building was very old and formerly held a grocery store.

Residents reported smelling smoke as far away as Blair Hills on the east side of the city.

No other structures were involved.

According to the Culver City Fire Department, products catching fire from inside the store increased the difficulty of extinguishing the flames. The fire burned nearly four hours after it began, with large amounts of smoke billowing into the air. At noon after almost 24 hours after the fire started firefighters were still pouring water on the smoldering remains.

Fire Department investigators are trying to determine how the fire started. One scenario is that the fire began outside the building, then caught onto a power pole, some power lines dropped onto the roof of the building. Another possibility was electricity arcing on the pole dropping flammable material unto the rooftop.

Southern California Edison crews were on the scene standing by with a replacement power pole.

The Culver City Police Department deployed its drone to assist firefighters with an aerial view of the inside of the store.

Representatives from 99 Cents Only Stores corporate headquarters were seen directing shocked customers to other 99 Cents Only Stores.