A fire spread from a Santa Rosa homeless encampment to a retail building early Tuesday morning, producing a large column of smoke and prompting several 911 calls, the Santa Rosa Fire Department said.
The first call came in at 6:11 a.m. Tuesday about the structure fire near the intersection of Sebastopol Road and Stony Point Road, according to SRFD Division Chief Fire Marshal Paul Lowenthal.
"A large column of smoke was visible and prompted several additional reports of the fire," Lowenthal said. "The first arriving unit located an exterior fire to the rear of the Dollar Tree (next to FoodMaxx). The fire involved a homeless encampment, multiple wooden pallets, and a cargo container."
Two engine crews worked to extinguish the fire while additional firefighters checked the roof of the Dollar Tree and inside the store.