Yesterday’s fire in Thermal caused $2 million in damage
Damage was estimated today at $2 million from a second-alarm fire that gutted the packing area of a date company in Thermal anddestroyed a nearby Nextel tower.
Firefighters dispatched at 12:19 p.m. Thursday to the Jewel Date Co. inthe 84500 block of Avenue 60 arrived to find flames charring date packing boxesstacked 25 feet high, Cal Fire Battalion Chief Bonifacio De La Cruz said.
Burning embers spread the fire to the adjacent cell tower, as well as tothree dozen date palm trees and a storage building. Date harvesting equipmentwas also destroyed, De La Cruz said.
The cause of non-injury fire, which swept through a quarter of an acreof the company property, remained under investigation today, De La Cruz said.
