Fire destroys houses under construction

An early morning blaze Thursday destroyed or damaged houses under construction in southern Las Vegas and was deemed suspicious by fire investigators.

The two-alarm fire happened about 2:30 a.m. at 3281 Parma Galleria Ave., near Interstate 15 and Cactus Avenue, officials said.

Two houses were destroyed and a third was damaged. When Clark County firefighters arrived, two of the homes were engulfed in flames, officials said.

The fire was contained and did not spread to any occupied homes in the development, officials said.

The damage is estimated at $300,000.

The cause of the fire was under investigation. One neighbor said he heard fireworks in the area before the homes caught fire. Officials could not confirm whether fireworks were a probable cause.