The cause of a large fire west of Selma on Thursday remains unknown.

After it began in the early evening, the blaze burned 15 acres of agricultural land, and destroyed two storage warehouses and an abandoned house.

"I'm in shock," said Darren Andrews, who lives on the property with his mother and father. "I thought I woke up in a nightmare."

The fire was initially reported at about 5:30 p.m., near Fowler and Floral avenues, and sent a large column of black and white smoke into the sky above Selma.

Firefighters descended on the scene with nine engines and four water tenders. After the fire was contained, they spent the night continuing to extinguish hot spots and monitor the area. No injuries were reported.

At the scene, flames had left the warehouses and home in blackened ruins. Trails of thick smoke and the smell of soot arose from the scorched remains. And neighbors looked on in disbelief.

In addition to the three structures, a vineyard and a grove of eucalyptus trees were burned. A trailer home, a house and an additional warehouse remained untouched from the fire.

Firefighters estimate $700,000 in property damage resulted. That includes the contents of the warehouses as well as the value of the nearby vineyard, according to Chris Christopherson, fire captain with the Fresno County Fire Protection District.

Although the cause of the fire remains unknown, while at the scene Christopherson said that the proper clearance of grass around the property might have stopped the fire from spreading.

"It could have eliminated the damage to the rest of the vineyard and the other buildings," he said.

The square footage of both warehouses as well as the abandoned house were undetermined, as a fire report on the incident still has yet to be finished, according to Jim Rajskup, a fire captain with Fresno County Fire Station 83.

Property resident Darren Andrews said he was sleeping at the time the fire started and said he was awoken by the fire when he heard a loud sound.

"I heard a big boom," he said. "I thought nothing of it ... and (then) I saw flames."

Andrews also said that from what he knows, the warehouses that burned mostly contained old airplane parts and an assortment of dated unusable items.

Darren's father, Larry Andrews, said he was watching TV a trailer belonging to he and his wife when he also heard a loud booming sound.

"I thought there was an accident on the road," he said.

As he walked towards Fowler Avenue to investigate, Larry Andrews said he noticed people standing by the property gate. They told Larry to look behind himself, and that's when he saw the fire's flames, he said.

Wayne Andrews, a Fresno resident who owns the property, was unavailable for comment.

Marilyn Tritle was sitting in her sewing room at her home across the street from the fire. When she saw the fire she immediately called 911.

"Then it got bigger, really big, and black smoke and flames were shooting up," Tritle said.

Tritle also noticed how loud the fire became.

"It's just amazing, it popped and sparked and made all kinds of noises," she said.