The fire was out by 07:00, but firefighters remained to damp down hotspots, said incident commander Nick Singleton.
Speaking to BBC Essex, he said as many as “60 to 70 local residents” were told to leave their homes after crews reached the incident, which involved “some shops”.
He confirmed there had been no injuries, but said some businesses had been damaged.
“I’d like to say a big thank you to the crews who worked extremely hard to stop the fire from spreading to nearby buildings,” he said.
He also thanked the Premier Inn for “providing a refuge centre”.
“A fire investigation will be carried out to determine the cause of the fire when it is safe to do so,” he added.
People living nearby were asked to keep windows and doors closed because of the smoke.
Crews from Clacton, Dovercourt, Manningtree, Weeley, Colchester, Tiptree and Chelmsford have been at the scene.