Los Angeles County Fire Department firefighters worked to extinguish a fire in Old Town Newhall on Aug. 24.
Crews with the county fire department responded to the fire in a commercial building in the 24000 block of Main Street in Santa Clarita at 3 a.m., said Keith Navarre, a spokesperson for the fire department.
Firefighters arrived to find a historic building on fire and upgraded it to a second-alarm fire shortly after, the spokesperson said. The fire was upgraded to a third-alarm by 4:42 a.m.
Crews are currently in "defensive mode," working to protect surrounding buildings from exposure, said Navarre. The fire had not been put out as of 7:45 a.m. on Aug. 24.
Main and Sixth streets as well as Railroad and Newhall avenues were closed as of 5:55
a.m. as firefighters continued to battle the blaze, the City of Santa Clarita said in a social media post.
The commercial building had three businesses, including the Newhall Refinery and an auto shop, Navarre said.
What is the Newhall Refinery?
The Newhall Refinery is a popular restaurant located in Old Town Newhall, the oldest neighborhood in Santa Clarita with many historic buildings.
The restaurant opened in 2013 and is described as a gastropub.
Ernesto Centeno Araujo covers breaking news for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at ecentenoaraujo@vcstar.com, 805-437-0224 or @ecentenoaraujo on Instagram and X.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Firefighters battle blaze that destroyed historic Newhall building
