- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Fire officials investigate early morning Lakeport fires at restaurant, thrift shop
LAKEPORT, Calif. – A thrift shop and a popular downtown restaurant were damaged in separate fires early Monday morning.
The Lakeport Senior Activity Center's Meals on Wheels Thrift Shop, located at 120 N. Main St., and Park Place restaurant, at 50 Third St., were the locations of the two fires, which took place about four hours apart.
The fire behind the thrift shop was reported just after 2:30 a.m., and contained in about 10 minutes, according to scanner traffic.
Lakeport Fire Capt. Rick Bergem said Lakeport Police arrived on scene first and were able to use a garden hose to mostly knock it down by the time firefighters arrived.
He said the fire was in what appeared to be a box of items that had been dropped off at the store. Bergem said fire officials were still determining the cause.
Jonathan Crooks, executive director of the Lakeport Senior Activity Center, said the fire was located in the thrift store's garbage area, and that quick action by police and firefighters prevented damage to the building.
“We lost a garbage can, its contents, and some surrounding plastic furniture,” Crooks said in an email to Lake County News.
The fire at Park Place was reported at about 6:30 a.m., Bergem said.
Open flames were seen on the building's roof. Bergem said the fire was confined to a rooftop vent.
Bergem said firefighters had to cut into the roof in the process of extinguishing the fire. Firefighters remained on scene until about 9 a.m., he said.
As a result of the roof damage and the smoke in the building, Bergem said the restaurant will have to be closed temporarily for repairs.
He said a final cause hasn't been determined, and he did not have cost estimates for damage to either of the buildings.
Park Place owners Barbara Morris and Nancy Zabel had repair crews on scene Monday afternoon in order to get the restaurant reopened by this coming weekend.
The restaurant has been operating at the lakeside location for 27 years, and has never had such an incident before, they said.
Morris and Zabel remained upbeat as repairs took place Monday.
“It'll be fine. It could have been so much worse,” said Zabel.
John Jensen contributed to this report.
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