CANTON, Texas (November 9, 2013) – An early morning fire completely destroyed several businesses at “The Mountain” at the Old Mill Marketplace on Texas State Highway 64 in Canton on Saturday, November 9, 2013.
CANTON, Texas (November 9, 2013) – An early morning fire completely destroyed several businesses at “The Mountain” at the Old Mill Marketplace on Texas State Highway 64 in Canton on Saturday, November 9, 2013.
According to Canton Fire Chief Bud Sanford, a Canton Police Officer noticed the fire while on routine patrol this morning at approximately 3:45 a.m. Approximately 15-30 commercial and residential buildings have been affected by the fire.
Property owner and manager Debbie Davis Reaves told inForney.com several bed and breakfasts were in the vicinity of the fire but were luckily not affected. “The firefighters did a great job. They took a square around the fire and they held it,” Reaves said.
Reaves and her mother Mary King have owned and operated their Canton 1st Monday operations for 20 years. According to Reaves, approximately 10% of The Mountain's businesses in the 20-acre area were affected. She does believe they will be able to open the surrounding buildings during Canton's next trade days on November 28, 2013, through December 1, 2013.
Sanford said there have not been any reported injuries and they are still working to account for all the residents. At noon, approximately eight hours after the fire began, firefighters continued working to extinguish several hot spots within the structures.
Several fire departments responded to the fire including state fire marshal officers. The cause of the fire is still under investigation and may take days or even weeks to determine given the amount of old wooden structures in the dense area.
An update statement from the Van Zandt County Fire Marshal/Emergency Management on their Facebook page reads, as follows: "Update on Mountain Fire. The fire is 100% contained. There was twenty lots and fifteen property owners which suffered losses as a result of this devastating fire. There were no injuries reported. At this time, we don't believe anyone perished on the fire. A team of investigators from Van Zandt County FMO, Canton PD, Van Zandt County SO, State Fire Marshal Office and ATF will begin sifting through the rubble to determine the possible cause and origin of the fire. They will also be using cadaver and accelerant detection canines in the investigation. The investigation is in early stages and may take sometime to come to a conclusion."