An early morning fire on Thursday in Cedar Key caused damage to four businesses on the small Gulf Coast city's landmark street.
The fire started around 5 a.m. in Duncan’s on the Gulf and The Rusty Hook Bait Shop and subsequently caused catastrophic damages to Steamers and Island Trading Post.
According to Jordan Keeton, Owner of 29 North restaurant on Dock Street, about 50 to 60 jobs were lost to the fire. Keeton said Steamers was one of the larger restaurants on the island, and losing it really hurts.
Firefighters did what they could, he said.
“They were spraying water on it for 10 to 12 hours,” said Keeton.
The fire happened one month before the annual Cedar Key Seafood Festival. This festival brings in about 20,000 tourists to Dock Street, making it a prime weekend for local businesses.
Michael Presley Bobbitt, a clam farmer, was returning from his clam farm with 250,000 clams on his boat when Jamie McCain from the fire department flagged him down.
“We were able to get some hoses out onto my clam boat, and we were able to fight the fire from my clam boat from the other side, while the firemen fought it this (land) side,” Bobbitt said.
Bobbitt said after the fire reached the gallons of frying oil at Steamers, it was a race to save the street from going up in flames.
“Without them (the firefighters) there’d be no more Dock Street, and without Dock Street it’s hard to imagine Cedar Key,” Bobbit said. “We’ll do what we always do here in Cedar Key, everybody will come out and pitch in and see what they can do to help.”
It's the second Levy County city that's seen a fire wipe out parts of the local economy in the past year; Williston has had two restaurants burn in the past 10 months.
