Popular downtown Modesto restaurant closed temporarily due to fire
A popular downtown Modesto restaurant is closed temporarily due to a fire over the weekend.
The fire broke out in a small storage room near the kitchen at Harvest Moon on I Street shortly before 11 p.m. Saturday, according to the Modesto Fire Department.
Police officers initially responded to a burglary alarm at the restaurant and saw smoke coming from the building.
Police Department spokeswoman Sharon Bear said investigators believe heat from the fire caused a window to break, triggering the alarm. She said there was nothing to indicate a person broke the window.
Deputy Fire Chief Darin Jesberg said an engine and a battalion chief were returning from another incident and were only a block away when they were dispatched. But they had to contend with hundreds of people downtown for a St. Patrick’s Day pub crawl.
Still, “they were able to quickly circumnavigate the crowds and be on scene within a minute,” Jesberg said.
He said firefighters forced entry through the front door and found the restaurant filled with black smoke. They located a bin full of smoldering, oily rags in a closet and quickly extinguished it.
Jesberg said the restaurant did not sustain any fire or structural damage, only smoke damage.
“Police and fire were amazing and prevented a possible disaster!!” reads a post on the Harvest Moon Facebook page.
The post did not indicate what needs to be done to reopen or if there is an estimated date of reopening other than it would be “just a couple of days.” The owner declined to comment.
Stanislaus Regional Fire Investigation Unit Supervisor Dustin Bruley said the fire was determined to be an industrial accident.
“Cleaning towels soaked in oil appeared to have self-combusted,” he said. “We typically see these type of accidents at woodworking shops, where wood staining rags are left in a collection area. They generate heat, and enough exposure to oxygen leads to combustion.”
