UPDATED: Major Electrical Fire at Market Common Clarendon

Update at 5:15 p.m. — Residents of the Avalon Clarendon apartments at Market Common Clarendon are being told they should consider booking a hotel room, as power for two of the three buildings is not expected to be restored until Wednesday. Management sent the following email to residents Tuesday evening.

Dear Residents,

While we are still awaiting additional details from Dominion Virginia Power on the full repairs, please know that we are actively working on a temporary solution. Our third party contractor is currently making every effort to get temporary power to the East and West buildings. They are working to get generators here tonight; however the connection process will take into tomorrow to complete.  Please note that temporary power does not include elevators, hot water or A/C.

We recommend each resident to make the best decision for their own comfortability as far as staying in your home or searching for a hotel. While many hotels are booked, we have found 3 that may still have availability.
Hilton Arlington 703-538-6000
Hilton Garden Inn DC 202-783-7800
Hilton Garden Inn Shirlington 703-820-0440

We will have associates monitoring the stairwells and doors throughout the evening, available to escort residents up the stairs to their apartments, as well as our Concierge on duty at the Front Desk.

We will send additional updates as we receive them. Thank you for your patience and understanding while we work through this.

Thank you,

Avalon Clarendon Team

Avalon Clarendon
2800 ClarendonBlvd.  | Arlington, VA 22201

Update at 10:50 a.m. — The fire is contained, ACFD says. A number of road closures remain in the Clarendon area due to the emergency response and power outage.

Update at 10:20 a.m. — The fire is out and was contained to an electrical vault, according to Arlington County Fire Dept. spokesman Capt. Gregg Karl. No injuries have been reported. Power is being restored to parts of Clarendon (it was just restored to Le Pain Quotidien, pictured above, two blocks away) but the shopping center is expected to remain without power for an extended period of time.

Update at 10 a.m. — The smoke has largely dissipated as foam continues to be used to extinguish the flames. Another tanker unit is en route from Dulles International Airport, according to scanner traffic. According to Dominion, 933 customers in the area are currently without power.

Update at 9:40 a.m. — A foam tanker truck from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority fire department is attempting to extinguish the flames. Power is out to much of the Clarendon area.

Firefighters are battling a large fire at the Market Common Clarendon shopping center at 2800 Clarendon Blvd.

A “large electrical transformer has exploded and is on fire in the basement,” according to the Arlington firefighters union Twitter account. A second alarm has been sounded as the fire has grown.

A large, multi-jurisdiction fire response is on scene. Thick black smoke can be seen rising from the shopping center from miles around.

Stores at the shopping center include Crate and Barrel, Barnes and Noble and an Apple Store that’s currently closed for renovations.

And more foam pic.twitter.com/8z9hVz0ai2

— Arlington Fire (@ACFDPIO) June 21, 2016

Airport's crash truck putting purple K on the fire. pic.twitter.com/nVzPjaRSPe

— Arlington Fire (@ACFDPIO) June 21, 2016

Video of what units are dealing with on scene of the transformer fire. pic.twitter.com/qXI3YozGfg

— Arlington Fire (@ACFDPIO) June 21, 2016

Another view of #Clarendon transformer fire. Crews still working hard. pic.twitter.com/cpZoRgm0k2

— Arlington Fire (@ACFDPIO) June 21, 2016

https://twitter.com/ACFDPIO/status/745245265397956608

#Update: Command requesting Airport crash truck to the scene with dry chemical capabilities. 2nd alarm dispatched.

— Arlington Fire (@ACFDPIO) June 21, 2016

#Update: Transformer on fire in the basement. Command established. Power Company requested. RIT Level 1 dispatched.

— Arlington Fire (@ACFDPIO) June 21, 2016

@ARLnowDOTcom fire at Clarendon Commons pic.twitter.com/ELtc4sIX7P

— Kallie (@kallie_lukasik) June 21, 2016

Anyone know the source of the smoke in Arlington? @ARLnowDOTcom pic.twitter.com/Qa3lBqcZ1D

— Diana Simpson (@DianaKSimpson) June 21, 2016

Lots of smoke in Clarendon. Cc @ARLnowDOTcom pic.twitter.com/VtVucKbsRh

— Ted Bloss (@tedbloss) June 21, 2016

Fire at Clarendon Commons. @ARLnowDOTcom pic.twitter.com/WSFMRt5ugy

— Sally (@sallyhs) June 21, 2016

Certain photos (top) by Jackie Friedman. YouTube video by Omar DeBrew.