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The Mountain View Marshalls & HomeGoods has been without power since Tuesday afternoon after a nearby fire caused more than $100,000 in damage and forced PG&E to cut electricity in the area, initially impacting roughly 400 customers.
At roughly 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, firefighters responded to a report of flames coming from a dumpster and overhead trees, according to a Mountain View Fire Department press release.
When firefighters arrived, they found flames around and inside an enclosure housing three electrical transformers and an “electrical switch gear” serving some of the surrounding stores, the release said.
This is the second fire in less than a month at the Grant Park Plaza shopping center, located near the corner of Grant Road and El Camino Real. On Aug. 10, Mountain View firefighters extinguished a dumpster fire behind a 99 Ranch store that sits just a few hundred feet from the Marshalls & HomeGoods.
On Tuesday, firefighters were able to control the fire within about 45 minutes without causing any damage to the shopping center itself, according to the press release. However, the blaze caused about $100,000 in damage to surrounding structures.
The utility company also had to isolate power to the transformers, taking out electricity for about 400 nearby customers. Three businesses remained without power, as of Wednesday afternoon, the release said.
The release did not specify how long the initial outage lasted or which businesses continue to lack electricity. Fire department spokesperson Robert Maitland was not able to provide answers to these and other questions before the Voice’s publication deadline. Maitland had initially told the Voice on Tuesday that “the incident produced small embers and no actual fire.”
Marshalls & HomeGoods employees told the Voice on Thursday that they are unsure of when the business would reopen to the public. Currently, Marshalls & HomeGoods is only working behind-the-scenes with vendors, an employee said.
Businesses surrounding Marshalls & HomeGoods, including an AT&T store, MOMents 4D/5D Baby Ultrasound and Baby Boutique, Massage Envy and Beauty Plaza, were all open Thursday.
Cecilia Gonzalez, who works at the ultrasound location, told the Voice that the business was without power for two hours Tuesday. During that time, they had to change appointments for expectant parents hoping to get a glimpse of their unborn babies, she said.
“We had a full schedule,” Gonzalez said. “We had to move a lot of people around.”
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