Fire that destroyed vacant Tumwater restaurant was a second, larger blaze, officials say
Olympia area fire crews and local law enforcement responded to two fires at a long-vacant former restaurant Sunday afternoon.
The first fire was initially extinguished, but then a second larger blaze emerged, according to a Tumwater fire official.
Crews and police were dispatched to the first fire about 2:10 p.m. Sunday at the South Pacific restaurant at Custer Way and Capitol Boulevard, Tumwater Fire Department Chief Brian Hurley said.
South Pacific, a former Cantonese-style restaurant, has been closed for about 10 years.
Hurley said the first small exterior fire was found on the restaurant’s back deck. Crews extinguished it, but were later called back to a much larger blaze in the same area.
It took about three hours to get the second fire under control, he said.
Roads were closed in the area — Custer Way at Cleveland Avenue, Capitol Boulevard at E Street and Custer Way at Boston Street — Hurley said, but they were back open by early Monday morning.
Tumwater fire, Olympia fire and McLane/Black Lake fire departments responded to the scene.
Hurley, echoing what police said on Sunday, said a detective responded to the scene and was trying to find a witness. The fire is under investigation. A fire investigator also will be called to the site of the fire to determine the cause and origin of the blaze.
The city has tagged the property and officials are working with the property owner to secure the area, he said.
This story was originally published June 24, 2024 at 10:06 AM.
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