65 Firefighters Battle 3-Alarm Attic Fire at Ashlan Avenue Strip Mall

Sixty-five Fresno firefighters spent Thursday afternoon battling a wind-driven attic fire at a strip mall on the 1600 block of East Ashlan Avenue that escalated from a 2-alarm to a 3-alarm response as crews worked to contain spreading flames and protect neighboring businesses.

The Fresno Fire Department was dispatched just after 2 p.m. on April 2 following multiple reports of heavy smoke in the area. The first crews on scene found flames and smoke pushing through the building's roof. The fire originated in the attic of a unit adjacent to the 7-Eleven at approximately 1629 E. Ashlan Ave., a strip mall that also houses a burger restaurant, a taqueria, a clothing store, and a vacant barbershop.

Wind complicated suppression efforts throughout the afternoon, forcing fire officials to upgrade the response as crews chased hotspots through the attic structure. The vacant unit, the taqueria, and the 7-Eleven all sustained fire damage. Crews successfully kept the blaze from reaching the remaining businesses in the strip mall.

All customers and employees at the 7-Eleven and surrounding storefronts were evacuated before the fire grew. No injuries were reported.

Ashlan Avenue was shut down in both directions to give crews access to water and room to work. The closure landed on one of the city's most trafficked commercial corridors: Blackstone Avenue, which borders the scene, carries approximately 21,000 vehicles per day between McKinley and Shields avenues and functions as the main line for Fresno's Rapid Bus Transit system. The Blackstone-Ashlan intersection recorded 13 crashes between 2020 and 2024 and ranks among the five most dangerous intersections in the city. Ashlan was expected to remain closed for at least an hour as firefighters cleared hotspots and began their investigation.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. No timeline has been announced for the damaged businesses to reopen. The Fresno Fire Department, operating since 1877 across 20 stations and 336 square miles, has not yet issued a formal cause determination.