Firefighters “acted quickly and decisively” to contain an electrical fire at Yellowknife’s historic Wildcat Café to a small portion of the restaurant, the city said on Thursday evening.
One person at the scene described seeing smoke emerging from the Old Town café as patrons were cleared from the venue at around 6pm.
“Small problem. Will update soon,” the café declared in its Instagram story alongside a photo of a fire truck parked outside.
In a statement to Cabin Radio, the City of Yellowknife said an electrical fire broke out inside a wall at the back of the restaurant.
“Crews worked quickly to open the wall and expose the area and extinguished the fire,” the city stated.
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“The initial firefighters who arrived on scene acted quickly and decisively to control the fire and contain it to a small portion of the restaurant, which prevented the fire from causing more damage. There were no reported injuries.”
Four trucks and 16 firefighters were involved in the response.
“The scene has been turned over to the property owner and the investigation has been concluded,” the city added.
The city later added the territorial fire marshal’s office was “securing the scene overnight until they can complete the investigation tomorrow.”
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Originally opened in 1937, the latest iteration of the Wildcat is a reconstructed vintage log cabin considered by the city to be the community’s oldest restaurant.
The café building is owned by the City of Yellowknife, which farms out operation of the Wildcat to local businesses. This summer, the café is led by chef Niki Mckenzie – formerly of the Fishy People restaurant.
Mckenzie told Cabin Radio the fire had left the building with minimal damage other than a “few scorch marks,” but power and water were out as a result.
“We will be closed until at least Sunday,” Mckenzie said on Thursday evening.
