SEVEN POINTS -- A four-alarm blaze roared through Cedar Isle Restaurant and Baja Beach Club in the early morning hours of Dec. 24, apparently causing a total loss to the popular nightclub.
Owner Lew Talbot said a decision has not yet been made about the future of the nightclub that featured live music every weekend by a variety of bands. "We're just not there yet," Talbot said during a phone interview.
The fire started about 1 a.m. after the club had closed for Sunday night business, according to Capt. Steven Williams , assistant fire chief for the Seven Points Volunteer Fire Department. Volunteer fire departments from Tool, Gun Barrel City and Payne Springs provided assistance in battling the fire which took several hours to extinguish in the bitterly cold winter weather.
No customers were in the building, but an employee reportedly was still on hand closing up the business at the time the fire started.
Williams said the volunteer fire fighters left the scene about 6 a.m. on Christmas Eve.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but it appears it possibly started in the roof of the building as a result of an electrical problem with a heater, according to Talbot who spoke with the fire marshal on the scene.
Williams said he expected the building would be a total loss because of the extensive damage from the fire and the water it required to put out the blaze.
Cedar Isle was one of the most popular live music venues on the lake and drew large crowds on weekends and holidays. Owners Lew and Bernie Talbot helped raise large sums of money for charitable events over several years at the club, especially the annual "Buddy Bash" benefiting the American Cancer Society.