Saanich fire crews remain on the scene of a massive blaze on Quadra Street at Lodge Avenue in the early hours of Nov. 20.

Firefighters were called between midnight and 1 a.m. to the structure fire where Quadra meets Lodge, or Palmer Road in the 3900-block of Quadra Street.

Faced with a fully involved five-storey structure fire when they arrived, Saanich fire called in Victoria fire crews as winds of 20-plus km/h winds buffeted the fire, said Platoon Captain Mitch Williams, incident commander on scene.

鈥淲e had large amounts of embers heading off to the west when we got here,鈥� Williams said at the scene.

The blaze was contained to the original structure, an unoccupied building under construction, while neighbouring residents were evacuated from their homes and taken to Saanich Commonwealth.

鈥淲e were able to keep it to this footprint and save the surrounding buildings,鈥� Williams said.

Crews remain on the scene, with Quadra Street closed in both directions as crews continue to overhaul the scene. Roadblocks remain with Quadra closed between Reynolds and Tattersall Drive.

BC Hydro is expected on scene with 鈥渟ignificant damage to the power grid,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be out for a while.鈥�