Apartment fire in Desert Hot Springs forces people out of a dozen units

A Desert Hot Springs apartment fire leaves a dozen units without power. The residents of the complex now have two weeks to find a new home while repairs are done.

"I mean, I hope it looks worse than it is and it doesn't take too long to fix," said
apartment resident Larry Drake.

Drake is one of the several people who lost power in Saturday night's apartment fire. Four units at Country Hills Apartments were destroyed by the electrical panel fire, and eight other units don't have power because of it. Cal Fire reported that no one was hurt.

"I'm lucky; I'm on all the way on the other end. So we didn't have any fire or smoke damage in our apartment. But now we have to find another place to live right now because we have no power," said Drake.

Residents are getting help from the Red Cross.

"We were we were in the office with the Red Cross until like 1 a.m., and they were just trying to get everybody their assistance cards and everything," said Drake.

Drake said the manager of the apartments is giving the affected complex residents two weeks to move out since repairs could take up to 90 days. He said each unit was given $4,000 dollars to help find another place in the meantime.

"I can't afford, you know, $1500, $2,000 rents that are out here right now that are almost impossible to find," said apartment resident Tracy Henry. " I just think it's wrong. You know, I also don't know what else to do. You know, I just have to find somewhere to go."

Henry said they would be given the option to return once the panel was fixed, but she said does not agree with how the situation is being handled.

The fire was reported just after 7:00 p.m. on Ironwood Drive in Desert Hot Springs.

Fire officials said the flames originated in an exterior electrical panel that extended into the attic of a four-plex.

The fire was contained at 7:35 p.m. and no injures were reported.

However, six adults and five children were displaced and are being assisted by the Red Cross.

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