LANGLEY — A large blaze erupted at a Langley restaurant early Saturday morning, sending plumes of smoke into the sky and prompting the evacuation of the city’s downtown.
Just after 6:30 a.m., fire crews from the city and township of Langley responded to a fire at Viva Mexico Restaurant, located in the front of a building at 20559 Fraser Hwy.
The blaze forced multiple businesses to close, displaced residents and left the community reeling.
“We can tell you that no one was hurt, but the building was destroyed and many businesses in the area could be potentially facing smoke and water damage,” said Teri James of the Downtown Langley Business Association.
Brigette Mayer, who operates Harmony Animal Training and Behaviour in the back of the same building as Viva Mexico, expressed her shock at the unfolding disaster.
“Photos of the fire were the first thing I saw when I woke up this morning and logged into social media. I was like ‘That’s my building,’” she said.
Mayer was concerned for other small businesses, including a physiotherapy clinic next to hers and offices upstairs.
“This is going to affect a lot of us here for a while to come.”
Shortly after 10 a.m., Shane Constantinescu launched a live stream on Facebook, informing customers that his business, Constant Collectibles, next to the restaurant, would not open as planned.
“We’re gonna be closed till further notice — if we’re even open again,” Constantinescu said, visibly shaken. “The entire front of Viva Mexico just collapsed, and they pulled us off the scene. The fire is shooting out everywhere. It’s not good.”
Forever Yours Lingerie, on the same block of Fraser Highway, posted its closure notice around 11 a.m. on social media.
“This is absolutely devastating for our community of downtown Langley. We are sending our love and prayers to our neighbours Viva Mexico during this heartbreaking time,” wrote its owner, Sonya Perkins.
“I’m sitting here watching it burn to the ground literally crying realizing how quickly you can lose everything. Times are so incredibly hard for small businesses right now.”
Amid the sadness, Langley City Mayor Nathan Pachal said he was relieved that fire crews had successfully contained the blaze to the one building.
“The Fraser Highway one-way is over 100 years old, a lot of these buildings are from the turn of the century. To be able to stop the fire from spreading is a feat in itself,” he told Postmedia News.
“For the residential units in the building east of the restaurant, this means they will have a home to return to,” Pachal said, acknowledging that there’s likely water and smoke damage.
Authorities are urging residents in the area to keep their doors and windows shut and wear a face mask outdoors.
The cause of the fire remains unknown.
