HOUSTON As thick smoke poured from a Galleria area parking garage, drivers watched and worried.
To find that your car probably exploded, not a good feeling, said Donna Avalos, who learned the fire had started very close to where she parked.
Firefighters have shut down the nine-story parking garage still filled with cars, as engineers try to determine whether it is structurally sound.
Workers at the San Felipe Plaza next door, meanwhile,had no access to their cars throughout the day.
Without any news, Avalos braced for the worst.
I told somebody we need to name this Black Monday. That s how I look at it. Can you imagine a fire like that just breaking out in a parking garage? Who would have thought it d happen? she said.
Witnesses say they first spotted a trickle of smoke coming from a Lexus on the seventh floor, and Alex Aguilar told us he watched the first flames shoot out.
Fire was just splashing onto the other cars. One car became three cars. Three became four. I heard loud booms, and that s when I ran, he said.
Others raced into the cloud of smoke, trying to save their cars.
It was black. You couldn t see anything. It was just like smoke was everywhere. I was scared, said Barry Alexander, who moved his car down the first story.
As firefighters arrived, they called for back-up, overwhelmed by the seven-story climb to the scene of the fire.
We actually have to take the stairs up and take our equipment with us, said Assistant Chief Kevin Alexander.
The building is considered structurally compromised.A company will come in to reinforce the top floors.
Arson investigators are not even able to access the scene. They plan to return Wednesday at 9a.m. to investigate. At this point, they cannot determine the cause of the fire.
People with cars on the first four floors have been allowed to go in and retrieve their cars. Cars on the very top floors were brought down by building personnel. There are about 30-40 cars in the thick of things, though, that will be stuck where they are, most likely until Wednesday.
Firefighters found cracks and holes in the concrete. They say chunksof concrete came loose, because of the intensity of the fire s heat.
