Eight Die in Fire as Freezing Temperatures Hit South Too

Dec. 28, 2010 — -- Eight people seeking refuge from freakish freezing temperatures in an abandoned New Orleans warehousedied today when a fire apparently got out of control and destroyed the building.

While the Northeast digs out from a massive blizzard, other areas of the country were also battling extreme weather.

In northern California, crews were building sandbag dikes ahead of a heavy storm that threatens to a repeat of last weeks floods and mudslides that inundated towns and swept away cars.

The New Orleans victims, believed to be homeless, were burning wood in a barrel inside the warehouse to stay warm, the city's fire department told The Associated Press. The fire also killed two dogs.

When the fire was reported around 2 a.m., temperatures were just below freezing. A man who lives nearby said the homeless in the area often go inside boarded-up buildings to stay warm, according to the AP.

When the first fire truck arrived, the warehouse was already fully ablaze. By the time they got to the bodies, firefighters were unable to discern the victims' age or gender.

Two survivors of the fire said that the victims were already unconscious when the building caught fire. The New Orleans fire department said that when something is burned in a closed space, carbon monoxide builds up, which probably knocked out the victims.

Louisiana is not the only state in the Deep South to find itself in the deep freeze.

A record-breaking chill has hit southern Florida, where many people had retreated seeking refuge from cold temperatures in the North. West Palm Beach and Vero Beach both broke their record lows for today, hitting 35 degrees and 31 degrees.

Over the weekend, Atlanta, Ga., saw its first white Christmas in more than 120 years. The cold continued into Monday with a freeze warning issued over night.