Fire damages restaurant in downtown Ceres

A fire broke out at Sam’s Cafe in downtown Ceres on Friday night.

Ceres and Modesto firefighters responded to reports of smoke and flames coming from the roof of the restaurant at Fifth Street and El Camino Avenue at about 6 p.m.

Ceres Battalion Chief Jeff Serpa said firefighters quickly located and extinguished the fire and cut holes in the roof for ventilation.

There were workers on the roof doing leak repair work when the fire started but the cause remains under investigation.

A cost estimate was not available Saturday but impacts to the inside of the restaurant were limited mostly to water damage.

This story was originally published November 25, 2017 at 9:11 AM with the headline "Fire damages restaurant in downtown Ceres."