The roof of a high school cafeteria building was destroyed and part of the structure collapsed before firefighters knocked down a fire early Monday on El Monte's Mountain View High School campus.
The fire was reported at about 2:30 a.m. at Mountain View High School. About 350 firefighters responded to the location south of Valley Boulevard and Durfee Avenue (map).
The fire was contained to the cafeteria area. School maintenance operations and a campus store also are located in the building, students told NBC4. Several awards and historic photos were destroyed in the blaze.
The fire was knocked down after about four hours. A bulldozer arrived late Monday morning to remove debris
Aerial video showed damage to the roof. Crewmembers were ordered off the roof and out of the building when it appeared the roof was becoming unstable, said Tony Imbrenda, public information officer for the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
The campus is closed Monday because of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.
Investigators are attempting to determine how the fire started.
"As far as where the fire started, that's still under investigation," said Imbrenda."The bulk of the activity was in the attic and along the roof of the building."
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