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San Rafael fire: Blaze reported at Larkspur St; chilling visuals from Canal area emerge

A massive fire was reported in San Rafael, California, on Wednesday and smoke could be seen in the San Rafael canals.

Updated on: Mar 19, 2026, 05:18:11 IST
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A massive fire was reported in San Rafael, California, on Wednesday and smoke could be seen in the San Rafael canals. Photographs of the blaze were shared on social media.

Smoke seen from the San Rafael fire in California. (Facebook/Bob Sarles)
Smoke seen from the San Rafael fire in California. (Facebook/Bob Sarles)

San Rafael Fire Department issued a statement on the incident and said “SRFD is currently responding to an incident on Larkspur St. Please stay clear of the area. More information will be available once the incident concludes.”

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They noted it was a commercial fire.

San Rafael fire: Photos emerge

Meanwhile, a person shared photos of the blaze and said “Big fire in San Rafael canals, as seen from our patio.”

The San Rafael fire department also shared a photo on X.

“Firefighters battling a large commercial building fire at 55 Larkspur St. Keep away from area,” they wrote.

In subsequent updates they added “Fire is contained to the building of origin. Everyone has been accounted for & there are no injuries.” and “Fire has been declared under control.”

They had earlier noted that no evacuations were needed at the time. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined. Marin Independent Journal also reported on the blaze in the Canal area, noting that authorities had responded around 3:30pm.

What to know about San Rafael

San Rafael lies in Marin County, western California. It is on the northwestern shore of San Francisco Bay.

The San Rafael area was developed around the Mission San Rafael Arcángel as a ranch town. The arrival of the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad helped sustain growth, which was also aided when the Dominican University of California was founded.

Light industrial development was encouraged here due to improved accessibility to San Francisco and the East Bay cities via the Golden Gate and Richmond–San Rafael bridges.

  • Shuvrajit Das Biswas
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Shuvrajit Das Biswas

    Shuvrajit has over seven years of experience covering US, India, and world news. An English Literature postgraduate from Jadavpur University, Shuvrajit started off covering entertainment, gaming and all things pop culture. There were brief periods away from the media industry, with short stints in content marketing, ed-tech and academic editing. However, the newsroom beckoned and over the last few jobs, Shuvrajit has exceedingly focused on team functioning as well, including tracking news and assigning tasks, working on everyday breaking news, framing detailed coverage plans, and creating immersive and data-driven stories. In his time as a digital journalist, he has covered a Lok Sabha election, multiple state elections, Union Budgets and award ceremonies. He has also helped in planning content for company event panels in the past. For work, Shuvrajit enjoys dabbling with data visualization, editing tools, and AI chatbots and attempts to incorporate AI workflows in everyday tasks. He is deeply interested in geopolitics, sports, films and music. Prompting is a new fascination for Shuvrajit now. Apart from that, he can be found doom-scrolling, sharing memes, or cheering on his favorite football team.Read More

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