Several people are feared dead after a small plane crashed into a California neighbourhood before dawn on Thursday, destroying homes and setting cars on fire.

At least 10 houses were burned or hit by debris that spread over a wide area, and cars on both sides of a street were set on fire when the Cessna 550 slammed into the ground in San Diego.

“There are more than one fatality that we found so far, but we’re waiting to get the registered numbers that were on the plane itself,” said San Diego’s Assistant Fire Department Chief Dan Eddy.

“When it hit the street, as the jet fuel went down, it took out every single car that was on both sides of the street,” he said, adding: “We have jet fuel all over the place.”

Footage of the immediate aftermath of the crash showed a line of burning fuel linking the flaming cars.

Eddy said “miraculously” no one on the ground had been killed or seriously hurt.

Daylight revealed what a close call it had been for some people, with images showing the roof of one home blackened and collapsing. Vehicles were twisted and charred, with one still burning.

“We have one car fire that just will not go out no matter what we put on it right now,” Eddy told reporters.

The accident happened in thick fog when the plane, which had come from Kansas, was nearing the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport.

The plane, which can carry up to eight people, went down around 3:45am (1145 GMT, 4:45pm PKT), according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), striking the Murphy Canyon neighbourhood.

The residential area it hit is largely military housing. San Diego is home to US Navy facilities, Marine Corps bases and Coast Guard stations.

Zane Baker, a high school senior who lives in the area, said police officers had gone door-to-door getting people out of their homes.

“I immediately just rushed to the front door, just looking outside, seeing what’s happening,” he told broadcaster KTLA. “I made sure all my siblings were awake and they were conscious and they were okay.”

Baker, who described himself as a “Navy rat” — the son of a servicemember — said scores of people had been evacuated from their homes, with many now milling around in confusion.

“The entirety of our parking lots and other areas are completely filled,” he said. “A lot of the entryways are blocked. People can’t get in or out. It’s a confusing mess.”

The accident came at a time of heightened tension in the skies above America, with a number of incidents rocking public confidence in flying.

Air traffic control outages have struck the busy Newark airport on the East Coast at least twice in recent weeks, and in January, there was a mid-air collision over Washington between a passenger plane and a military helicopter.

This month, two people who were onboard a small plane died when it crashed into a residential neighbourhood northwest of Los Angeles.