SUMPTER — A fire reported in the early morning Wednesday, Aug. 16, at the Elkhorn Saloon in Sumpter left the iconic business a total loss by dawn, fire officials said.

The fire, which is under investigation, was reported at about 1:25 a.m., said Kurt Clarke, chief of the Sumpter Fire Department.

The saloon, which had closed for the night about 9:15 p.m. on Tuesday, was vacant when the fire was reported, Clarke said Wednesday morning.

The saloon is a couple blocks from the fire station, and the first firefighter reported flames were about 20 feet high and about two-thirds of the structure was burning, Clarke said.

He said the 11,500-square-foot building dates to about 1900, with renovations and additions in 1937.

Clarke said the owner, Dick Epler, told fire investigators that the structure is insured.

Firefighters from multiple agencies responded to a mutual aid request, including the nearby Powder River Rural Fire Protection District, which has its station at Mosquito Flats about a mile east of Sumpter.

Firefighters from the Greater Bowen Valley and Keating rural districts also responded, and the Baker City Fire Department brought its ladder truck, said Wes Morgan, chief of the Powder River fire district. There were no injuries, Clarke said.

Both Morgan and Clarke said the fire was difficult to control as the flames tore through the wooden structure.

“It was a tough one,” Morgan said Wednesday morning. “It would not give up.”

The Baker City ladder truck helped keep flames from spreading to nearby homes and pine trees, Clarke said.

There are two homes approximately 45 feet from the saloon, he said.

One home was vacant, and the resident of the other used a garden hose to douse his property.

Clarke said he was cognizant of Sumpter’s history with fire, in particular the blaze that destroyed much of the gold-mining town on Aug. 13, 1917.

The Elkhorn Saloon’s metal roof helped reduce the volume of embers that could have ignited fires elsewhere, he said.

The restaurant and bar is one of Sumpter’s better-known businesses, Clarke said. It’s renowned for its variety of more than three dozen burger toppings.

He said the saloon served around 200 meals on Tuesday evening for its weekly Taco Tuesday event.

Clarke said investigators from the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Oregon State Police were going through the building Wednesday morning.