BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- The search is on for the cause of a dramatic East Bay fire that heavily damaged four businesses in a Berkeley warehouse.

It happened Saturday night near Hearst and Second streets. Smoke and flames could be seen for miles. The flames tore into power lines, knocking out service to several local businesses. Nearly 24 hours later on Sunday evening, the fire was still smoldering.

"Boy, I can't believe what I see," warehouse owner Bill DeCarion said. "I can't believe it."

"There's no evidence of the glass anywhere," he said. "I mean, it must have melted."

The five-alarm fire Saturday was incredible, lighting up the night sky. It took 70 firefighters several hours to contain it.

During the firefight, live power lines actually fell onto firefighters.

"It dropped across the battalion chief's vehicle," said Chief Gil Dong. "And actually one of the power lines did touch one of our firefighters but they did not get shocked."

Fire investigators are yellow tagging parts of the building too dangerous to enter. They're also busy combing through the rubble, looking for clues about how the fire started.

"We look at everything around the building, behind the building, inside the building," Chief Dong said.

"It had completely spread down here, despite the wind blowing this way," said Import Tile Company co-owner Evelyn Larson.

Excerpt from:
Investigators work to determine cause of 5-alarm Berkeley fire

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