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A fire broke out this morning in the motel/apartment units behind Chin’s Cafe on Broadway in Eureka, displacing several people and prompting a large emergency response.

Witnesses told the Outpost‘s Ryan Burns and Andrew Goff, both at the scene, that they heard a loud explosion in one of the units as the fire broke out. One said they saw debris fly into the air where a wall was blown out.

Amy Conlin of Humboldt Bay Fire told the Outpost that her agency could not yet confirm the cause of the fire. She did note that they came across a leaky propane tank outside the unit, and said that there may have been another inside.

The fire has been contained. One lane of southbound Broadway is closed. Police and firefighters are still on scene.

We’ll update when we know more.