A fire early Monday in the small Washington town best known as the fictional home of the “Twilight” movies destroyed two buildings, including one that once sold souvenirs from the vampire series, authorities said.
The blaze also cut a power line and caused the Quillayute Valley School District to cancel classes.
The fire was reported before 4 a.m. in a three-story wooden building built in 1925 as an Oddfellows Hall. It was fully involved when the first firefighters arrived, and they knew the building couldn’t be saved, said Phil Arbeiter, a Clallam County fire chief.
An explosion, possibly from a propane tank, spread the fire to an adjoining one-story building known as the Twilight store because it sold movie memorabilia until it closed early this year.
Even if it hadn’t lost power, the Quillayute Valley School District might have cancelled classes Monday because of the smoke, Superintendent Diana Reaume said. The district has about 1,100 students at an elementary, middle and high school campus just two blocks from the fire, she said. Classes resume today.
The loss of the first building, built with old-growth timber, was a devastating historical loss to the community, Reaume said.
It was used by the Rainforest Players for theatrical productions and also hosted dances and community meetings, the Peninsula Daily News reported. It also housed a Hispanic grocery.
The Associated Press
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