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Richmond Fire Destroys Vehicles, Damages Businesses

RICHMOND (KCBS) — Firefighters battled a blaze for four hours in an industrial area of north central Richmond that started early Wednesday morning, and damaged several nearby businesses.

The fire started around 2 a.m. near the Richmond Parkway at a company that makes and stores wooden pallets. The pallets which burned like kindling created a smoky fire that spread to a nearby landscape company and three other businesses where several trucks and other vehicles were torched.

KCBS' Jeffrey Schaub Reports:

The cause of the fire was unknown.

"We're not really sure at this time what caused it," Merlin "Lightning did happen to go by right before the fire started in the area," Battalion Chief Merlin Turner, of the Richmond Fire Department, said. "It's still under investigation."

Lightning and thunderstorms were reported in the Bay Area last night and Wednesday morning, but according the National Weather Service there were no lightning strikes recorded in the East Bay.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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