Second-Alarm Fire at Indio Walmart Injures Three, Store Evacuated

An electrical fire caused $1 million in damage to a Walmart store in Indio today and left two firefighters and a civilian with non-life-threatening injuries.

Patrons and employees were evacuated from the store due to the second-alarm blaze, which was quickly contained. An issue with electrical and solar panels was the cause of the fire, according to the Riverside County Fire Department, which dispatched more than 40 firefighters at 10:26 a.m. to the Walmart at 82491 Avenue 42. They had the blaze under control at 11:02 a.m., department spokeswoman Jody Hagemann said.

Two firefighters were taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries, Hagemann said, while a civilian was treated on scene for minor injuries.

The store was scheduled to remain closed for the rest of the day, according to a statement posted on the store’s Facebook page, which did not indicate whether it was expected to reopen Wednesday.