A fire that began in a trash dumpster spread to an adjacent building in downtown Santa Barbara early Thursday, prompting residents to evacuate, according to the Santa Barbara City Fire Department.

The blaze at 35 Parker Way was reported at about 2:25 a.m., city Fire Marshal Joe Poire told Noozhawk.

Responding firefighters saw flames coming from a dumpster in an enclosure on the east side of the building, Poire said.

The fire had spread to the enclosure itself, as well as the building, which has commercial uses on the ground floor and residential units on the second story, Poire said.

Crews were able to quickly knock down the flames and control the fire, and no injuries were reported.

Power to the building remained off at mid-morning pending an inspection by city building officials.

An investigator was called to the scene to search for the cause of the blaze.

Although the cause has not been determined, Poire noted the building is adjacent to Highway 101, in an area frequented by homeless people who come and go through a hole in the chain-link fence.

— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.