Fire destroys home in Concord

CONCORD, Calif. -- A fire this morning at a Concord home where squatters were believed to be living caused an estimated $150,000 in damage, a Contra Costa County Fire Protection District marshal said.

Fire Marshal Robert Marshall said the cause of the fire, which was reported around 2:30 a.m. in the 1900 block of North Third Street near Willow Pass Road, is still being investigated.

Firefighters arrived to find the home engulfed in flames with power lines that had dropped into the front yard, Marshall said. A gas meter that caught fire complicated the battle against the blaze, he said.

The fire was extinguished about an hour later, Marshall said.

An eviction had recently taken place at the home so no one was supposed to be there, but fire officials learned a number of squatters had apparently been living there, according to Marshall.