RIVERSIDE – (INT) – An abandoned school, transformed into a homeless encampment, caught fire late Tuesday destroying two classrooms and damaging five others.

Firefighters said they had to force entry through plywood and other construction materials designed to keep people out of the former Hawthorne Elementary School on Indiana Avenue. They were met with heavy smoke and fire.

A search of the school turned up no victims.

Investigators located a hole that had been cut in the roof enabling the homeless to enter the building.

Arson investigators are following up.

Story Date: February 26, 2018