Water Heater Sited As Potential Cause Of Citrus Heights Fire

CITRUS HEIGHTS (CBS13) -- A water heater located in a storage area near the rear of the building that burned down in the Sunrise Marketplace strip mall on Monday might be the cause of the blaze, according to Sacramento Metro Fire.

Fire investigators say they can't eliminate the water heater as a potential cause but that more testing will be conducting to determine the cause of the fire that destroyed home accessories store Tuesday Morning and a beauty salon school next door.

The fire started shortly after 4 p.m. and burned for several hours, sending powerful flames and dark black smoke high into the sky, visible for miles. The blaze attracted dozens of viewers across the street at the busy Citrus Heights intersection and backed up traffic for miles.

The fire completely destroyed both Tuesday Morning and Hoss Lee Salon Academy. Damage was estimated at $2 million, according to Sac Metro. The three-alarm fire was contained to the one shared building and no one was injured.