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Fire crews battled a blaze at a shuttered restaurant on the tip of the Seal Beach Pier early this morning.
Ruby's Diner, located in Seal Beach at the end of the pier, caught on fire shortly before 8 a.m. this morning. The vacant eatery's location posed a unique challenge to firefighters. Fire boats used water cannons to spray water onto the building, while other firefighters had to bring hoses all the way down the 2000-foot-long pier, according to CBS Los Angeles.
LBFD Large Fire Boats are making major headway on this fire. The largest fire boat on the west coast is coming onscene LBFD Boat 20
— Long Beach Fire (@lbfirefighters) May 20, 2016
The diner has been closed since 2013, and Capt. Larry Kurtz of the Orange County Fire Authority told KTLA that he wasn't sure when the building had last been inspected. At this time, the cause of the fire is unknown.
Ruby's Diner first opened in Newport Beach at the end of Balboa Pier in 1982. The Seal Beach location closed after 25 years in business in 2013. The Original Fish Company had once planned to open a restaurant in the space, but could not come to an agreement with the City of Seal Beach.
The pier itself was built in 1906, and caught fire in 1994. The cause of the fire, which temporarily trapped 145 people on the pier, was a short in an electrical line that provided power to the businesses on the pier.
Fire at old Ruby's Diner on Seal Beach pier spewing thick smoke into the air. WATCH LIVE: https://t.co/GkorbJenv4 pic.twitter.com/9W0WBgsTjC
— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) May 20, 2016
One more from the late Ruby's at the end of #SealBeachPierFire pic.twitter.com/y0hDI904NY
— Carter Hooper (@jeepguynola) May 20, 2016
Intense flames burst through roof of former Ruby's Diner at Seal Beach Pier. Live video: https://t.co/oVbDVJ0gs8 pic.twitter.com/ZJj6FhE65L
— KTLA (@KTLA) May 20, 2016
The old Ruby's Diner burning on Seal Beach Pier https://t.co/Kd8zG0uBv1 pic.twitter.com/qSrz4z3ohf
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) May 20, 2016
Roof of former Ruby's Diner has collapsed #SealBeach @lbfd @lbfirefighters @OCSD #OCFA pic.twitter.com/UWSKS3MMMe
— Julie Sone (@ABC7JulieSone) May 20, 2016
