Fire heavily damages View Café
(Photo courtesy SELKIRK FIRE, RESCUE & EMS)Fire crews battle a fire on the View Cafe in Cocolalla earlier this week. The owners announced on Facebook they plan to reopen the community landmark restaurant.
(Photo courtesy SELKIRK FIRE, RESCUE & EMS)Fire crews battle a fire on the View Cafe in Cocolalla earlier this week. The owners announced on Facebook they plan to reopen the community landmark restaurant.
(Photo courtesy SELKIRK FIRE, RESCUE & EMS)Fire crews battle a fire on the View Cafe in Cocolalla earlier this week. The owners announced on Facebook they plan to reopen the community landmark restaurant.
COCOLALLA — No injuries were reported after a structure fire heavily damaged the View Café early Tuesday morning, according to Selkirk Fire Rescue & EMS officials.
Selkirk Chief Ron Stocking said a passerby on U.S. Highway 95 saw smoke pouring from the eves of the restaurant at approximately 2:30 a.m. and called 911. Stocking said the call likely saved the business from complete destruction.
“It would have been a total loss,” said Stocking.
The Idaho State Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the fire, as is the business’s insurance provider. The fire caused an estimated $150,000 in damages. Preliminary findings suggest the cause of the fire was accidental, according to Stocking.
Had the fire burned for another 15-20 minutes without being reported, the whole building would have been destroyed.
“Even though the business suffered damage, it was definitely as bad as it could have been,” said Stocking. “At least the building was not a total loss.”
Four engines and a water tender from Selkirk were dispatched to the fire. Northside Fire District conducted mutual aid response with a second water tender.
The operators of the café plan to restore the business.
“We will be closed for a while but we will be open again, and I will let you all know as we get through the process of it all,” a post to the café’s Facebook page said.
It’s the second fire this year to damage a rural Bonner County restaurant this year. Last month, a fire damaged the Hoodoo Creek Café in Vay.
Both businesses serve as gathering places for sparsely populated portions of the county with limited commercial services.
Stocking said a fire at a business is terrible, but a fire at a business that serves as a social hub is even worse.
“It’s devastating for everybody,” he said.
Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.