BELEN, N.M. --
A Belen strip mall burst into flames Wednesday afternoon, and now a number of businesses are completely gone.
The fire started around 1 p.m. at Del Rio Plaza at the corner of Jarales and River roads.
Witnesses said the fire was strong and engulfed the building quickly because of strong winds. Rene Soiles told Action 7 News that she ran out of the building while it was on fire.
“(It was) very scary, very scary. I’ve never been in anything like that before. And that fast, it doesn’t seem real. I’ve never seen anything like it,” she said.
Soiles said her first concern was her very young children.
“The smoke, the smoke, and in seconds, it was starting to come in there, in the ceiling and creep in from the attic,” she said. “It was crazy.”
No one was hurt in the fire, but a lot was burned.
James Diaz is the CEO of a nonprofit program that runs head start programs in Belen. His offices are now ash, along with the much-needed supplies he provides to the school district.
“Teaching materials that were left in there, cameras, videos, lots of things for children,” Diaz said.
There is no word yet on how the fire started. A number of offices were destroyed, but many of the strip mall’s shops survived the blaze.
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