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Saturday, July 12, 2008

Fire Doused Before Doing Major Damage

By Phil Parker
Journal Staff Writer
      CHIMAYÓ — Florence Jaramillo arrived at her historic restaurant, Rancho de Chimayó, in time to see flames more than 20 feet tall pluming off the building's south side.
    But the 19th-century hacienda of the restaurant — a landmark with a national reputation for its northern New Mexican cuisine and original Chimayó Cocktail — was saved. Damage was contained to the kitchen.
    Rancho de Chimayó has been a restaurant for 43 years, and Jaramillo has worked there for all of them. The building itself has been in her family since it was built, which she said was in 1865, although some sources cite other dates in the 1800s for the construction.
    "A lot of the firemen who were here last night worked for me at one time or another," Jaramillo said. "We have third- or fourth-generation workers."
    The restaurant is filled with pictures that are more than 100 years old, as well as antiques and family heirlooms. None were damaged.
    The fire was reported around midnight Thursday. A cause of the blaze had not been determined by Friday afternoon, though authorities say it started outside the kitchen area before spreading under the eaves and into the approximately 4,000-square-foot building.
    Firefighters from across northern New Mexico assisted in containing the fire to the restaurant's kitchen, according to Santa Fe County Assistant Fire Chief John Wheeler. Firefighters used a ladder truck to pull the tin off the roof as a means of accessing the blaze, Wheeler said.
    "They were here until five in the morning," Jaramillo said. "They were on the ball. There were a lot of firemen here, and they did a heck of a job."
    The fire was extinguished by about 2:30 a.m. Friday, Wheeler said.
    Most of the restaurant is fine. Even the kitchen didn't sustain overwhelming damage. "It was the dishwashing area," Jaramillo said.
    The biggest issue she sees is electrical. Rancho de Chimayó had no power Friday because "all the electrical for the building is on that side," Jaramillo said.
    "It looks like all the electricity is fried," she said.
    That meant disposing of all the food left in the kitchen. Jaramillo's employees spent Friday gathering posole, blue corn tortillas, chile and more than $10,00 worth of food items.
    "We can't keep it," Jaramillo said, "so we're just giving away the food to the help (employees)."
    Jaramillo's nephew, Dwayne Emerritt, said he thinks the restaurant can be open in two weeks.
    "We're hopeful," he said. "If she (Jaramillo) had her way we'd be serving dinner tonight."
    Wheeler said the restaurant blaze serves as a reminder about fire danger in rural areas. Home and business owners, Wheeler said, are encouraged to create a defensible space around structures by removing nearby fuel materials.
    Journal staff writer Raam Wong contributed to this report.
   

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