SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 10: The Home Depot store on Blossom Hill Road destroyed by fire in San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, April 10, 2022. Firefighters continued monitoring hot spots Sunday evening after a fire tore through a Home Depot in South San Jose with such ferocity that orbiting satellites could detect its heat signature.
A shelter-in-place advisory was lifted early Sunday afternoon for residents living near the store, San Jose fire officials announced. The toxic stew of chemicals, paint, insulation and other building materials burned in the blaze had prompted the air quality advisory. Some store employees had little chance to stamp out the fast-moving flames before being forced to flee, said Josh Thompson, a store employee who works in the lumber section.
Hurst, who was shopping inside the home improvement store before the fire, said he did not smell any smoke nor see any signs of a possible fire while shopping or checking out. But when he was putting his items in his car, he saw people rushing out of the store and went back to see what the commotion was about.
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 10: Fire damage can be seen inside of the Home Depot store on Blossom Hill Road destroyed by fire in San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, April 10, 2022. “From an economic development standpoint, San Jose already had less of a tax base than other cities and residents are already driving elsewhere for work, so it’s definitely a loss,” Mahan said.