Downtown San Diego

Fire burns 2 buildings, 1 abandoned, in downtown San Diego

NBC Universal, Inc.

Thick plumes of black smoke could be seen rising from downtown San Diego Saturday afternoon as a two-alarm fire burned two buildings, one of them abandoned.

The Island Fire started at 4:12 p.m. in an abandoned building located at 1700 Island Ave. in the East Village area of downtown San Diego.

Firefighters and police rushed to the scene as the flames quickly engulfed the roof of the building.

Not long after, the fire spread and burned a nearby building, according to San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

SDFD advised people to avoid the area while they continue to put it out.

By 7:08 p.m., fire crews wrote on twitter that they had successfully knocked down the main body of the fire.

Expect fire crews to be at the site until about 9 p.m. checking for hotspots using an unstaffed aerial system, according to SDFD.

Views from the department's helicopter show the fire damaged two buildings. No injuries were reported, SDFD said.

The building where the fire broke out is across the street from the Shift Apartments, a luxury apartment complex in East Village.

This is a developing story. Keep refreshing this page as NBC 7's digital team will continue to update the story as more information arrives.

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