Art gallery catches fire in Carmel Saturday evening
On Saturday evening New Masters Art Gallery in Carmel caught fire. The business is located between 7 th Street and Ocean Avenue. Owners Bill and Mellisa Hill have been running the business for forty one years.
Fire crews from Monterey, North County, and Aromas came to help and were able to get the fire out quickly. According to the fire department, no one was injured. Most of the paintings, worth millions of dollars, were saved but structural damage is estimated to be more than $200,000.
The fire presumably originated from the rear of the building but the cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
The structural damage that occurred has halted the fire investigation said Joe Headly, Building Official with the City of Carmel. On Monday engineers worked with contractors to stabilize the building to assure that the area is safe for investigators.
“I think cooperation between the tenants and the property owners have been extremely helpful in keeping the process moving along. It’s a pretty tight knit community, all these people have been in business for a long time, they know each other, and they stepped up to help each other quite a bit,” Headly said.
Nearby businesses had some smoke and water damage but overall were stable and should be up and running Monday or Tuesday after they have been cleaned for soot.
We will keep you updated with any information about the cause of the fire.
