Cathy Perfect - Kern Valley Sun

Sandy Williams was poised and ready to mark the seventh anniversary of her restaurant’s grand opening in Mt. Mesa when tragedy struck Saturday night shortly after 8:00 p.m. An apparent electrical malfunction caused the fire that destroyed the interior of the Red Rooster Cafe, according to a family friend who requested she not be identified. However, the official word from Sean Collins, Public Information Officer for Kern County Fire Department, is 'The cause of the fire is under investigation.'

The Cafe was closed and unoccupied at the time of the fire, he added.

The charred remains of the Red Rooster Cafe’s interior, apparently caused by an electrical malfuntion in the dishwashing area of the business, are assessed by firefighters as they pry through the restaurant’s ceiling Saturday night. The Mt. Mesa restaurant was unoccupied when the fire broke out, shortly after 8 p.m.

'This is terrible,' said Wes Walker of Mt. Mesa, a Red Rooster regular, 'Where am I going to eat breakfast tomorrow?' Walker’s sentiments were echoed by the crowd of bystanders, many of them customers, that had gathered.

Williams was devastated when she faced the scene of her business, literally, going up in smoke.

'It was her baby,' Williams’ friend said. 'But she is dealing with it. She said what she will miss the most is her regulars, 'the people who come in every day to see me.’'

Williams is determined to get the cafe up and running again, but she knows a decision whether or not to reopen rests upon the outcome of her insurance claim. 'Right now, we don’t know what it will cost, to rebuild the entire building or gut the interior and renovate,' Williams’ friend explained.

Kern County Fire Department called in extra manpower, from Stations 42 in Bakersfield and 74 in Ridgecrest, to help Kern Valley firefighters battle a fire in the rear of the building and smoke and flames venting from a cooler on the roof. A total of 19 Kern County Firefighters responded to the incident, Collins said. 'Their quick actions prevented any major structural damage to the structure and kept the fire from spreading to Mt. Mesa Shell, an adjacent gas station.'

As fire crews entered the rear of the property to extinguish the fire, a second crew ventilated the roof. The fire was under control within 30 minutes, according to Collins. 'Fire crews were able to save approximately $100,000.00 in property value. However, the fire destroyed an estimated $100,000.00 of contents and property,' Collins said.