Fire burns east Modesto house. It isn't the first time.

An attic fire on Sunday burned a vacant east Modesto house that had burned before, and where authorities believe homeless people had been living.

The fire was reported about 12:40 p.m. at the home in the 100 block of Eula Drive, a few blocks of west of McClure Road and north of Yosemite Boulevard.

The first firefighters who arrived found smoke coming out of the front of the single-story house, said Modesto Fire Battalion Chief Darin Jesberg.

Nearby residents told authorities that they believed homeless people had been living inside the house. So, the firefighters launched an offensive attack, going inside the burning house to extinguish the blaze, Jesberg said.

The firefighters searched the home, but they didn't find anyone inside. Jesberg said the firefighters did find some debris inside to indicate some homeless people were living there. No injuries were reported.

The fire appeared to have started in the attic in the rear of the house, but investigators had not determined a cause.

Jesberg said the vacant home has burned before. He said the property owner was called and was on his way to inspect the damage.

This story was originally published December 17, 2017 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Fire burns east Modesto house. It isn't the first time.."