Multiple people are dead after a private plane crashed in a San Diego neighborhood early Thursday morning, setting roughly 15 homes on fire and forcing evacuations on several blocks, officials said.

The fatalities were among the small plane’s passengers, and no one on the ground was injured, assistant fire department chief Dan Eddy said at a news conference Thursday.

Officials said the model of private plane that crashed can hold up to 10 people, but it was not yet clear how many were on board the plane when it crashed.

Eddy said there was “jet fuel all over the place” in the Murphy Canyon neighborhood, where he described “a direct hit to multiple homes” and “a gigantic debris field.”

He said cars in the area were set ablaze, as well.

“When it hit the street, as the jet fuel went down, it took out every single car that was on both sides of the street,” Eddy said. “You can see that every single car was burning down both sides of the street.”

Eddy said it was very foggy when the plane crashed.

“You could barely see in front of you,” he added.

The crash occurred at approximately 3:45 a.m. PDT near the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the crash, the FAA added.

The Associated Press contributed.