Two perish in early morning La Quinta Cove house fires
Firefighters have put out a fire that burned two homes in the La Quinta Cove early Wednesday morning and killed two people.
The deaths were confirmed by CalFire Riverside County Fire, but there was no immediate word on their identities.
Neighbors awoke to the sound of loud popping and chainsaws at 2:20 a.m. to see firefighters working to put the fires out at a property approximately halfway up the cove on Avenida Martinez near Calle Chihuahua.
A CalFire Battalion Chief Justin Karp said there were two structure fires burned on the same property. Karpo described flames fully engulfing the structures with flames coming out the windows.
A two-alarm response was called as some neighboring homes were evacuated.
Residential Structure Fire:rpt@2:21 a.m. 53000 Block of Avenida Martinez in La Quinta. Two residential structures, well involved with fire. Additional engines requested. #MartinezIC pic.twitter.com/KgTPIKZpfc
— CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department (@CALFIRERRU) October 4, 2023
The fire was contained shortly after 4:00 a.m. Its cause had not yet been determined, and firefighters remained on-scene for clean-up.
CalFire said one firefighter was being evaluated for a minor injury, and the American Red Cross had been requested to assist two other adults who had been displaced.
This is a breaking news story. Stay with KESQ News Channel 3 for updates on the air and online.