According to officials, firefighters responded to a call of a commercial structure fire around 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. It soon turned into a 3-alarm blaze with several fire crews on scene.

I spoke with the owner of the neighboring business on how the events unfolded.

“We had a lady just poke her nose in and say she saw smoke… and I stepped out and there was smoke up on the second floor.” says Michael Baker, the owner of the Design Collective Group.

Baker, whose shop neighbors the businesses impacted by the fire, immediately began packing up items of importance as soon as he saw the smoke coming from the second floor.

The fire hit two businesses, Desert Luxury Estates and Aabel, Krieger & Wilmeth, CPA’S.

“We had smoke in this building and a little water come down this block wall over here and not a great deal of damage.” Baker speaks on the damage the fire caused his shop.

Baker continued to remove things out of his business until he was told he was no longer able to go back inside.

“I kept taking them out to the car until the police, who had come in, told me I couldn’t come back.” The firefighters then arrived at the scene… and with the help of the Sheriff’s Department kept everyone safe and out of the area.

Baker said aside from not being able to go back inside his business, he also wasn’t able to leave, the surrounding streets including the parking lot… had been blocked off.

“So we stayed around till about 5:30 when they opened up an access to this back alley, and I was able to leave. They said come back in probably a couple of hours to lock up because they wouldn’t let me lock up.” Baker says.

Baker says the firefighters and Sheriff’s Department handled the incident very well.

“I was overall very pleased. I think the fire people pulled up very quickly. I mean we had fire people, I think people from Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Indio, Riverside County.” Baker emphasizes.

Blaze Leaves Two Businesses Closed To The Public