One Dead in Huge House Fire on Vista Drive in Spring Valley

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the fire occurred on Helix Street. It was actualy on Vista Drive near the Helix Street intersection.

Update - 3:24 a.m. Friday

The fire in the 9200 block of Vista Drive broke out about 6:30 p.m. Thursday, said San Diego County sheriff's Sgt. E.J. Dayrit. Crews had the blaze largely contained within a half-hour.

A body was found in the bedroom of a Spring Valley residence ravaged by fire, authorities said Friday. The identity of the deceased and the cause of death were not immediately determined, Dayrit said.

The stricken two-story structure stands behind a one-story home occupied by a man and his wife, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

The couple said the first floor of the burned-out structure was used to store welding chemicals and oxygen and that a relative lived on the second floor, San Miguel Fire Protection District spokesman Leonard Villarreal said. The relative's whereabouts were not immediately determined.

–City News Service

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Update - 10:07 p.m.

San Miguel Fire District officials have confirmed that one person has died in the house fire.

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An intense fire leveled a Spring Valley house Thursday night.

The blaze in the 9200 block of Vista Drive erupted about 6:30 p.m., a Heartland Fire & Rescue dispatcher said.

Live television-news helicopter footage showed the house completely engulfed in flames.

Crews had the fire largely contained within a half-hour. Based on a report from a concerned neighbor, personnel were searching the smoking rubble of the gutted house for a person who may have been inside when the blaze broke out, KFMB-TV reported.

Mount Helix Patch will provide updates on this story as more information is made available.

–City News Service