IMPERIAL, Calif. (AP) — A Marine jet crashed into a residential area and destroyed two homes in a Southern California desert community Wednesday, but no one was injured, authorities said. 
 
 This photo provided by Isaac Ramos shows firefighters putting out a fire caused when a military jet crashed in residential neighborhood in Imperial, Calif., Wednesday, June 4, 2014. Witnesses say two... (Associated Press) 
 
 This photo provided by Isaac Ramos shows smoke caused when a military jet crashed in a residential neighborhood in Imperial, Calif., Wednesday, June 4, 2014. Witnesses say two houses caught fire after... (Associated Press) 
 
 This frame grab made from video provided by Isaac Ramos shows firefighters putting out a fire caused when a military jet crashed in a residential neighborhood in Imperial, Calif., Wednesday, June 4, 2014.... (Associated Press) 
 
 This photo shows the site of a military jet that crashed on a residential street in the desert community of Imperial, Calif., Wednesday, June 4, 2014. Witnesses say two houses caught fire after the crash.... (Associated Press) 
 
 Despite the explosive crash on a street of tightly packed houses, 1st Lt. Jose Negrete (neh-GREH-tay) said no people on the ground were hurt. The pilot had ejected safely, was taken to a hospital for evaluation and released, officials said. 
 
 The Harrier AV-8B went down in a front yard at 4:20 p.m. PDT in Imperial, a city of about 15,000 near the U.S.-Mexico border about 90 miles east of San Diego. 
 
 Debris from the plane hit the roof of one of the houses, which was destroyed, Marine Lt Col John Ferguson said. The subsequent explosion and fire destroyed another house and badly damaged one more. 
 
 The house that suffered the brunt of the damage had a missing roof but still had walls and windows intact. 
 
 Christopher Garcia, 11, was watching television two blocks away with his father and brother when he heard an explosion that "felt like an earthquake." He hurried outside to see a pilot parachuting into a field about 200 yards from the crash. 
 
 "A mushroom cloud of black and red smoke" rose above the house with the collapsed roof, he said. The garage of the house next door was on fire. 
 
 He saw a woman crying outside saying, "That's my house!" 
 
 Adriana Ramos, 45, whose home is less than a block from the crash, said her "whole house moved." 
 
 "It felt like a bomb was thrown in the backyard," Ramos said. 
 
 Ramos fled with her 4-year-old granddaughter and 10-year-old daughter, who both cried at the sight outside. 
 
 Another witness, Jose Santos, was driving nearby and saw the plane flying "really low." Then "it just fell down," he said. 
 
 Santos sped toward the crash site. On the way, he saw the pilot on the ground. 
 
 "He didn't look like he was injured. He was rolling from side to side," and a police officer and others were helping him, Santos said. 
 
 At the crash site, there was chaos as people ran in every direction, he said. The two homes were on fire and it was unclear if anyone was inside. 
 
 The plane was from Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona, said Cpl. Melissa Lee, a spokeswoman for Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. She had no details about what might have caused the accident. 
 
 This was the second crash in a month of a Harrier jet from the Yuma air base. 
 
 On May 9, a pilot was able to eject safely before his jet crashed in a remote desert area near the Gila River Indian Community, south of Phoenix. No one was injured. 
 
 And in July, 2012 another AV-8B Harrier crashed in an unpopulated area 15 miles from the air base, which is among the busiest in the world for the Marine Corps, and is used it to train military aviators from around the nation. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Hamilton reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writer Bob Jablon also contributed to this report from Los Angeles. 

 A Marine jet crashed into homes in the city of Imperial in Imperial County but there were no casualties, the city's fire chief said Wednesday evening. 
 
 Two homes caught fire but everyone in the homes escaped, said Chief Tony Rouhotas. 
 
 The AV-8B Harrier jet from the Marine Corps Air Station at Yuma, Ariz., crashed about 4:20 p.m., according to a spokesman for the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego. 
 
 The pilot ejected safely but has been taken to a hospital for observation. 
 
 Chelcey Adami, reporter for the Imperial Valley Press, said that residents told her that the crash sounded and felt like an earthquake. 
 
 Neighbors rushed to one home and made sure everyone escaped, Adami said. Some people in the home were stunned at the crash and were unsure what had happened. 
 
 Isaac Ramos / Associated Press Crews work to extinguish fires at two homes after the crash of a military jet in Imperial. Crews work to extinguish fires at two homes after the crash of a military jet in Imperial. (Isaac Ramos / Associated Press) 
 
 Paramedics were on scene but no one appeared to need treatment, Adami said. Eight homes were evacuated, with three considered a total loss, Marines said. 
 
 Imperial is a community (population 15,000) between El Centro and Brawley. 
 
 Marines said the cause of the crash is under investigation. The Harrier jet is capable of a vertical takeoff and landing.
– An incredibly lucky escape in California: A military jet slammed into a street of tightly packed houses in the desert community of Imperial yesterday but there wasn't a single casualty. Officials say the pilot of the AV-8B Harrier jet from the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Arizona, ejected safely and the crash is being investigated, reports the Los Angeles Times. After the crash stunned residents, neighbors rushed to damaged homes to make sure everybody got out. The plane went down in a front yard, destroying two homes with debris and fire and badly damaging several others. The crash "felt like an earthquake," an 11-year-old boy who was two blocks away tells the AP. He says he rushed outside to see the pilot parachuting into a field about 200 yards away, and a "mushroom cloud of black and red smoke" over one of the damaged homes. (Last month, a pilot crashed into a home in Colorado—and discovered that he used to own it.)