Fresno, CA (May 12, 2026) – A fire that erupted inside a utility vault under a downtown Fresno bridge on Monday, May 11, left two people dead. The blaze was reported shortly before 8:30 a.m. At the corner of Fresno and H streets. Witnesses reported seeing several individuals from the unhoused community going in and out of the area shortly before smoke was first observed. Emergency responders had to work with the local power company to de-energize service to almost 600 customers before they could safely access the vault and start battling the fire. Once inside, teams performed an initial search and located the first victim. Fire Chief Billy Alcorn confirmed that the individual had died. A second victim was discovered in a subsequent search and was also declared dead at the scene. The identities of both individuals remain unknown. Chief Alcorn stated that the premises appeared to have been used as shelter by people experiencing homelessness. Emergency teams kept searching the building to make sure no one else was inside.
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