Two-Story Commercial Building Catches Fire in Palm Desert

An abandoned commercial building near the El Paseo Shopping District of Palm Desert caught fire Wednesday, but the blaze was quickly snuffed out by responding fire crews. The non-injury fire was reported at 2:24 p.m. at a two-story building in the 73300 block of Palm Desert Drive N., according to Jody Hagemann of the Riverside County Fire Department. Nearly two dozen county firefighters were dispatched to the fire, which produced smoke visible from the building’s roof, Hagemann said. Firefighters contained the flames to the exterior of the vacant building at 3:03 p.m.