1188 Destinations, a gift shop and office for the 1188 pub and bar owned by Shannon Adair, suffered total damage from the fire.

JOHN DAY — The fire that began at DP Home Entertainment Monday evening in downtown John Day left two businesses and an empty storefront totaled, but damage to businesses along the rest of the block was mainly limited to minor smoke damage.

Firefighters from throughout Grant County spent hours keeping the fire from consuming adjoining businesses on the 100 block of East Main Street.

An investigation into the cause of the fire was ongoing and was being led by a deputy state fire marshal from La Grande, said John Day Fire Chief Don Gabbard. No injuries were reported from the incident, he said.

Volunteer fire crews from John Day, Canyon City, Mt. Vernon and Prairie City responded to the blaze, and fire departments from Redmond, Bend and Sunriver also sent crews to help fight the fire, Gabbard said.

“I would like to thank all the firefighters and agencies that helped,” Gabbard said. “We couldn’t have done it without them.”

Eric Bush, Grant County’s emergency management coordinator, shared that sentiment.

“It was a great effort by our local firefighters,” Bush said. “They fought a very difficult fire and they managed to save many buildings that could have easily been lost. They fought the fire for at least seven hours without a break until the crews from Central Oregon arrived.”

Dawn Degrande, owner of DP Home Entertainment, told the newspaper the morning after the fire that she was consulting with her insurance agent.

“Right now, I don’t know what to do,” she said.

Ali Lenz, owner of the Grubsteak Mining Co. Bar & Grill and The Ugly Truth, said her businesses would be open Tuesday and that the electricity had been turned back on for her businesses.

“We’re pretty good,” Lenz said. “You can smell a little bit (of smoke) and that’s in The Ugly Truth, but the Grubsteak is fine.”

Business owner Shannon Adair said the 1188 Destinations gift shop and office that was just west of DP Home Entertainment was a total loss, but the 1188 brewpub should open again sometime in the future after suffering relatively minor damage.

“As far as I can tell, we have minor smoke and water damage in our pub, but we’ll have to come in and take a look,” Adair said. “We’re in good shape compared to everyone else. I’m so grateful.”

Adair said the pub and restaurant will be closed for a while and she’s not sure when she’ll open again.

“It will depend on what the insurance agent or inspector say,” she said.

Chris Emery of Portland contacted the Blue Mountain Eagle to say he owns the property, called the Deline Building, that housed the businesses destroyed by the fire. He said his family acquired the building in the 1970s or 1980s. He obtained full ownership in the 1990s.

“My plan for the building was to eventually retire there. I attempted to keep it in the best of repair, but (with) the goal to eventually place a second story so I could live there and, after I died, pass it on to my brother’s children,” he said in an emailed statement. “I never raised the rent. … I only hoped to contribute to the city.”