A fast-moving fire tore through a row of businesses in Santa Clarita’s Old Town Newhall district in the early hours of Monday, destroying the popular Newhall Refinery restaurant and severely damaging several neighbouring shops before firefighters brought it under control, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Crews were called to the 24000 block of North Main Street at around 2.55 am and found a single-storey commercial building with smoke and flames showing from the roof. Within minutes, the blaze had grown large enough to threaten the entire row, prompting fire officials to escalate their response twice before daybreak.
Newhall Refinery Fire: What Happened And When Did The Fire Break Out?
The fire was first reported shortly before 3 am at a commercial unit on Main Street that housed an auto body shop, according to the fire department. Crews upgraded the incident to a second alarm at 3.07 am to bring in additional units, and to a third alarm at 4.42 am as the flames continued to grow, department public information officer Keith Navarre told City News Service. A third-alarm blaze is classed as a major emergency requiring a heightened level of response.
Newhall Refinery Fire: How Did The Fire Spread Through Old Town Newhall?
The flames quickly jumped from the original body shop to the adjoining Newhall Refinery restaurant, The MAIN performing arts theatre, Caring Quality Dental, the Care Tucker Style House clothing store and the site of the former El Trocadero Mexican restaurant, according to fire officials and reporters at the scene. “It pretty much consumed the whole commercial building,” Navarre said of the strip of shops. Aerial footage showed the roofline of the block glowing orange as heavy black smoke drifted over surrounding neighbourhoods.
Newhall Refinery Fire: How Many Firefighters Responded And What Did They Face?
More than 100 firefighters were dispatched to battle the blaze, taking up defensive positions around the building and using aerial ladder trucks to douse the flames from above in what crews describe as a “surround and drown” approach, aimed at containing the fire while protecting nearby structures. By around 8 am the visible flames had been extinguished, though officials said full knockdown had not yet been declared as crews used excavators to pull apart still-smouldering debris.
Newhall Refinery Fire: Which Streets Were Closed And What Was The Impact On Traffic?
The city of Santa Clarita closed off a wide perimeter around the scene as crews worked, shutting down Main Street along with Sixth Street, Eighth Street, Railroad Avenue and Newhall Avenue. “Please avoid the area and use alternate routes,” the city said in a post on its official Facebook page, as commuter traffic backed up around the closures during the Monday morning rush.
Newhall Refinery Fire: What Do Officials Say About The Damage?
City communications manager Carrie Lujan, describing the strip as the heart of Main Street, said the loss was keenly felt by the wider community. “I think about just how devastating this is to our businesses on Main Street,” Lujan said, noting that the Newhall Refinery had built a reputation as one of the area’s most popular restaurants since opening in 2013, and that the block had hosted a city street event as recently as last week.
Newhall Refinery Fire: What Is The Status Of The Investigation?
No injuries were reported among firefighters, employees or residents, officials said. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, and fire officials have not yet said whether the auto body shop’s operations played any role in how it started. Business owners along the affected stretch of Main Street are expected to begin assessing losses once investigators have finished working the scene, with the closures likely to stay in place while structural safety checks continue.
