One of the local residents who has been evacuated this morning tells the Associated Press that he and his wife were woken by a loud bang in the early hours.

Christopher Moore says that they looked out the window and saw smoke, so grabbed their two young children and fled.

Once on the street, they saw a car engulfed in flames.

“It was definitely horrifying for sure, but sometimes you’ve just got to drop your head and get to safety,” Moore says.

We just heard from San Diego's Assistant Fire Chief Dan Eddy that the plane took out all cars on a suburban street, leaving "every single car burning down both sides of the street".

A piece of the aircraft has also been pictured. Take a look below.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Pool

We just heard from San Diego authorities on the plane crash earlier this morning.

If you're just joining us, here's a rundown of what they said:

• Officials say they believe there to be multiple fatalities from those travelling on the private plane. The plane carries eight to 10 people including the pilot, but they're still confirming who was registered on the flight
• No one is currently believed to be seriously injured from the homes that were hit - and more than 10 homes have been impacted
• Close to 100 people have been evacuated
• All but one car fire has been extinguished in the area
• The plane appeared to be heading to Montgomery Field - an airport located nearby
• Multiple crews will remain on the scene for some hours to come

Eddy reiterates that does not know at this time the exact number of casualties, but that it is accurate to say there are "multiple fatalities".

We had heard earlier that authorities believed there was more than one.

He says his team is working to confirm those details with federal aviation authorities.

Eddy then concludes the news conference. Authorities say they aim to provide more details in a few hours.

Image source, Pool

Assistant Chief Dan Eddy continues to respond to questions - he says it "looks like" the plane was headed to Montgomery Field - an airport located nearby.

It seems that the authorities have not confirmed how many people were on the plane.

"It's very important for us to find out how many people were on that plane," he says.

Eddy adds there are no power outages currently.

Eddy now says over 10 homes are believed to have been impacted by the incident.

When the plane hit the street, it took out all the cars on both sides, he says.

"It meant that every single car was burning down both sides of the street", he says, adding that the smoke in the air is due to one car fire that hasn't yet been put out.

Assistant Fire Chief Dan Eddy is asked about whether there are any casualties.

He says authorities are still searching, but no one was seriously injured from the homes that were hit.

"All the fatalities look to be the ones from the plane," Eddy says, adding that authorities are in touch with the Federal Aviation Administration to see how many people were aboard the aircraft.

He confirms that there is "more than one fatality" and that they now know it was a private plane.

The plane was registered out of the Midwest, Eddy tells the news conference, and he is not aware of any communication from the pilot.

Commanding officer for the San Diego Naval Base Bob Heely now explains that this is one of the "largest" military housing units in the world.

He sends condolences to affected families, adding that their safety is the "foremost concern".

He also acknowledges local cooperative efforts - mentioning in particular support that is available at Miller Elementary School.

Image source, Pool

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria is next up, who says there has been an "extraordinary response effort" in the area following the crash.

Our city will be supporting these families impacted here, he says, adding that they are part of the military community that makes up the city.

The limitation in terms of additional damage on the ground is a direct result of the hard work of the emergency responders, Gloria says.

Scott Wahl, the San Diego police chief, starts by offering his condolences to families who were impacted by the crash.

He says the objective of police this morning is to control traffic and make sure evacuations of nearby homes are underway.

"We have close to 100 people that have been displaced," Wahl says.

He then thanks all the first responders for their work so far.

"I can't quite put into words to describe what the scene looks like," he says, adding that "it was pretty horrific to see" the homes on fire and jet fuel flowing down the street.

Eddy continues to say there is one "stubborn" car fire that will not go out - but all other fires have been extinguished.

He says multiple crews remain on scene investigating alongside the Federal Aviation Authority.

For the investigation they expect to remain on site for four to six hours "at least".

Logan steps back and Assistant Fire Chief Dan Eddy steps up next.

He says it was unknown whether the plane was a military or private one.

Eddy says that they we were able to evacuate homes across the region.

No one was transported from the scene - which is great news for us, he adds.

Image source, Pool

San Diego Fire Chief Robert Logan is now giving us an update.

He says his department responded to a call of reports of a plane down around 03:45 local time.

Upon arrival, he says they found multiple cars and homes on fire.

We're now hearing an update from the authorities in San Diego following this morning's plane crash.

You can follow the briefing live at the top of the page, just click watch live.

We've been bringing you news over the last hour of a small plane crash that has occurred in a San Diego neighbourhood.

If you're just joining now, here's what we know so far:

• A Cessna 550 aircraft, a small model which can carry six to eight people, crashed into the Murphy Canyon neighbourhood
• The crash occurred at around 03:45 local time amid foggy weather conditions with local emergency services attending the scene minutes after it was called in
• Fifteen homes were set on fire as a result of the incident and several blocks have been told to evacuate
• Images at the scene show burnt out vehicles and residential buildings but details of any injuries have not yet been released

Here on the newsdesk, we're working to bring you any new lines or developments as we receive them. We're expecting a news conference from authorities shortly, so stay with us.

The small plane went down in Murphy Canyon, a neighbourhood in central San Diego.

It is a residential neighbourhood primarily serving military families within the Tierrasanta community.

It is home to around 9,600 residents, with a significant number being active-duty service personnel, making it one of the most military-concentrated communities in the United States.

The neighbourhood lies along Interstate 15, offering access to several major military bases.

Some footage has emerged of fire crews responding to the aftermath of the small plane crash in San Diego on Thursday morning.

The clip below shows several burnt out cars, debris from the crash and houses that have been burned or damaged.

As we've been reporting, the Cessna 550 aircraft crashed into San Diego's Murphy Canyon neighbourhood earlier today.

Here's a look at the exact location of the crash, which is slightly north of the neighbourhood.

Our US partner CBS is on the ground in San Diego's Murphy Canyon neighbourhood.

Here's are some of the images from their camera feed over the last hour.

Image source, CBS

Image source, CBS

Image source, CBS

Image source, Getty Images

The Federal Aviation Authority says the plane that was involved in Thursday morning's San Diego crash is a Cessna 550.

These planes are popular light business jets that carry one pilot, one co-pilot and six to eight passengers.

Their use can vary - they can be utilised as charter planes, private planes or corporate planes by businesses for short to mid-range flights. Modified versions of the plan can also be used for air ambulance services.