The fire broke out around 3:20 pm on August 19, 2002, on the roof of Building 7, where crews had been working. With no doors or working sprinklers to slow it, it consumed the whole block. Embers set at least 15 smaller fires; 39 units of the Moorpark Garden apartments to the east were destroyed and 132 people lost their homes. About 150 firefighters from San Jose and a dozen other departments contained it by evening, and no injuries were reported.
Damage was estimated at $129 million. Federal Realty rebuilt, and Santana Row opened that November.