Fire destroys Mina Club

The Mina Club and an adjacent empty building were destroyed in the blaze that began about 12:30 p.m., Monday.

Jim Trease, owner of the Mina General Store, said there was concern for a while that the old town, population 250, could be consumed by the fire.

"Things were kind of hairy there for a while," he said. "The club was an old, old building, like a tinderbox. We're about 100 feet away. Luckily the wind was blowing a bit and it was blowing the fire away from us."

The loss of the club will put a dent in the town's social life, Trease said.

"Now we only have three businesses on Main Street," he said. "It was a social center. Everybody either hung out there or at another bar at the other end of town."

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