Fire damages California Dreaming restaurant in Columbia

One of the most popular restaurants located near the University of South Carolina was on fire Sunday night.

California Dreaming, located on the 400 block of South Main Street with Green's Beverages, near Assembly Street, was the scene of a fire, according to Columbia Fire Department Chief Aubrey Jenkins.

The fire was first reported around 10 p.m., according to Jenkins, who said firefighters continued to battle the blaze after 10:30 p.m.

"We believe we have the fire out, but we are still dealing with smoke, so it's not quite under control," Jenkins said to The State.

Jenkins said the fire was located in the attic area of the building, adding there were no more visible flames.

No injuries have been reported, according to Jenkins, who said there were some customers and employees in the restaurant at the time of the fire, but they all safely escaped the building.

Employees first said they noticed it appeared to be hazy, possibly raining, outside before being made aware the building was on fire. Workers and patrons were then evacuated.

It was too early to determine the cause of the fire, Jenkins reported.

While the fire was contained to the attic area of the building, Jenkins said that the smoke from the fire was also limited to that section, meaning smoke was not in the main restaurant area.

Perhaps the biggest threat to the integrity of the restaurant was not the fire, but the water the firefighters used to quickly contain and limit the blaze.

Jenkins had not done an inspection of the building as of 10:45 p.m., but said he knew there was water in the attic. It would just depend on how the building was structured to determine if the water ran down from the top to damage the restaurant.

This story was originally published June 17, 2018 at 10:33 PM with the headline "Fire damages California Dreaming restaurant in Columbia."