A fire that apparently began at the former Radio Shack business, now DP Home Entertainment, at 131 E. Main Street in John Day on Monday, April 17, led to the evacuation of businesses on either side as a large plume of noxious smoke rose high into the air.

Fire trucks and emergency vehicles from John Day, Canyon City and Prairie City responded to the fire, which was reported shortly before 6 p.m.

Personnel from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police and Oregon Department of Transportation were on the scene to help with crowd control while volunteer firefighters from area departments worked to knock down the blaze at DP Home Entertainment and protect adjoining structures.

A lineman from Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative cut off electric power to some of the businesses threatened by the fire.

An ambulance from Blue Mountain Hospital was on standby, although no injuries no injuries were reported in connection with the blaze.

The fire appeared to be threatening the adjacent businesses in the row of buildings anchored by Mosier’s Furniture to the west and True Value Hardware at the eastern end of the block, which is right in the core of John Day’s downtown business district.

The street was cordoned off with police tape on either end of the block.

Employees and business owners stood anxiously outside, worried about the loss of their livelihoods.

Among the onlookers was John Day Mayor Heather Rookstool.

“I’m sad for the business owners in the community right now and praying for the safety of our firefighters,” she said.

Sarah Ake works as a manager at 1188 Brewing Co., which has a brewpub on one side of DP Home Entertainment and a retail shop and office on the other. She was working in the pub when the fire broke out.

“We saw smoke coming through the pipes above our dishwasher,” she said. “We walked out front and saw it was Radio Shack (that was on fire). We got all the customers out of the pub first. Then we went over to our office and got our computers. What else were we going to do?”

Janet Hill and Georgianne Campbell were at The Ugly Truth, a bar just east of 1188, and had just ordered dinner when they learned about the fire.

A law enforcement officer came into the bar and told everyone to evacuate, according to Campbell.

“He said, ‘You guys need to leave,’” Campbell said.

The two women left the bar and looked down the street, where they could see the fire.

“Radio Shack was all black inside,” said Hill, who owns a trio of businesses — Java Jungle, the Floor Store and Tropical Tan — just across Main Street.

Debbie Brown, a broker with Country Preferred Realtors at 137 E. Main, watched from the end of the block as firefighters worked to contain the blaze burning just a few yards from her office.

“The biggest thing we’re worried about is our files,” she said.

The fire was contained by about 11 p.m. DP Home Entertainment was gutted, along with 1188’s retail and office space and an empty storefront in between, but the rest of the block was still standing.