Firefighters were still on the scene Monday night after huge flames consumed businesses along Route 101 A in Amherst that afternoon, leaving just a pile of rubble where the buildings once stood.

Advertisement Massive blaze destroys Amherst businesses Fire broke out Monday along Route 101 Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Firefighters were still on the scene Monday night after huge flames consumed businesses along Route 101 A in Amherst during the afternoon, leaving just a pile of rubble where the buildings once stood.Click to watch News 9's coverage.The smoke could be seen for miles and the fire quickly reached four alarms.Watch raw videos from the scene: Video 1 | Video 2 | Video 3 “This building was completely engulfed in flames,” said one witness. “There was black smoke – you could see it from Exit 6 or so – the heat was tremendous."View images from the scene.Dramatic eyewitness video recorded during the blaze showed wind-driven flames and smoke destroying Sundance Spas and Amherst Kayak & Canoe.Witnesses said the fire started outside.“The fence line was on fire, and it was jumping – like, eight-foot, 10-foot flames, and then it started going toward the roof so we called 911,” said Mary Winch.The heat from the fire grew so intense, drivers could feel it out in the street.“Oh my God, driving by in my car with the windows closed, it was tremendously hot,” said Jan Lessard.Firefighters from seven communities battled the flames, the wind making their task more difficult by starting spot fires – one of them on top of another business 200 feet away."The building collapsed, the roof collapsed, and it's gone over to this building,” a witness said.Crews halted that fire on the rooftop and slowly knocked down the rest of the flames."It was a task right from the get-go to get this under control,” said Amherst fire Chief Matthew Conley.While Conley said initial reports indicated the fire started in a Dumpster, the point of origin and cause remain under investigation.For now, the fire is not considered suspicious."Not at this time – and again, we're really in the early stages of figuring out 'Was it an external component?' based on reports, and taking that information,” Conley said.Eyewitnesses said there may have been some initial confusion over who was going to call 911, causing a delay.Conley said the first engine made it on scene five minutes from dispatch, and upon arrival, the fire looked like it had a bit of a head start.The site of the fire is the same place where a tragedy occurred on June 16, 1989.The Amherst community was shaken that day when a gunman walked into Farfar’s Ice Cream and started shooting.Two people, the owner and a 17-year-old employee, who was the girlfriend of the shooter, were killed, and the gunman took his own life.The tragedy sparked debate at the State House for increased background checks.Get the WMUR app