Whiskey Row Fire 2012

A few nights ago, I was perusing Facebook and was flooded with photos of Whiskey Row, which was on fire. This is a huge deal and everyone was freaking out about it - including me and John. I wanted to go down and take a look but Kaetana was in bed and I couldn't drag her out for that. So we stayed home and got updates online. Then, yesterday afternoon, we went downtown to check out the damage to the building (which housed 3 businesses, including the famous Bird Cage Saloon) and reminisce and such. It was pretty devastating, actually, to witness. Here are a couple photos I took:

This was, perhaps, the most heartbreaking. I spent a lot of time in this place as a teenager.

Inside The Bird cage. My mother in law took this, she has firefighter friends and they let her go close ;)

We climbed up to the top of the parking garage behind Whiskey Row to see the roof damage.

It was sad, and the Row won't be the same without these places. The town has already set up a fundraiser block party on the 20th which I'm looking forward to, and I heard that the owners of the food store are already looking for a new location. All in all, I think the town is coming together beautifully which is no surprise. I really love the place we live, and the sense of community we have.