Firefighters battle massive house fire in Fresno County

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Firefighters are working to put out a massive house fire burning just southeast of Fresno.

It was first reported around 3 a.m. Monday at a home on Temperance near Church.

Fire officials say the home is abandoned and the flames were so massive when they arrived, that they had to take a defensive approach to fight the blaze.

Also adding another safety challenge was a power line down across the chain-link fence surrounding the home.

Firefighters had to keep their distance until PG&E could come in and make sure the power was off to the home ensuring the fence was not energized.

No word on a cause at this time.

It's also not yet known if transients may have been inside.