BRIEF: Cause of Disneyland parking structure fire still under investigation

Feb. 15--ANAHEIM -- Anaheim fire investigators were still trying to determine what started a fire at Disneyland's Mickey and Friends parking structure Monday that damaged eight cars and injured seven.

The blaze began at 4:37 p.m. in either the cargo area of a Toyota Prius, near its battery, or the engine compartment of a Ford Expedition, Sgt. Daron Wyatt of the Anaheim Police Department said. The two cars were within three feet of each other on the second story of the 10,000-space structure.

"Due to the extreme heat produced by the fire, the configuration of the vehicles, and their proximity to one another, the exact cause and origin cannot be determined without further testing and evaluation," Wyatt said in a statement.

Black smoke billowed out of the large parking structure as the cars burned and seven Disney employees suffered from smoke inhalation. Of the eight cars damaged, four were destroyed. An early estimate of the damage costs was set at $180,000.

Fire investigators were working with insurance companies to determine the cause but they do not believe the blaze was set intentionally.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7865 or [email protected]

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