Fiery Blasts Rock Industrial Center in Santa Clarita

A series of fiery explosions rocked a light-industrial complex in Santa Clarita early Thursday, blowing off part of a roof, jolting awake firefighters miles away and causing an estimated $2.75 million in damage to six businesses, authorities said.

No one was injured in the spectacular 1 a.m. blaze. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Fire officials said it may be related to a faulty natural-gas line.

“It woke up a whole fire station eight miles away,” Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Larry Collins said. “We saw smoke and fire from two miles away.”

Firefighters extinguished the fire at 26821 Ruether Ave. in about 40 minutes. Several explosions blew part of a plywood roof into the parking lot and pieces of a concrete wall onto nearby Soledad Canyon Road.

No one was working at the time of the explosions, and there are no residences nearby, Collins said.

The one-story, roughly 25,000-square-foot building is one of two on the site, each with eight tenants. The second building was not damaged, said property owner Peter Wald of Bel-Air.

Gutted businesses included A & F Engine Parts Manufacturing, where the fire apparently started; Jim’s Air Conditioning; So Cool Air Conditioning, and Royal Suites, a mattress showroom.

Canyon Auto Care and Lux Industries, another air-conditioning business, were slightly damaged, Collins said.