Thuy Phan/Nguoi Viet
GARDEN GROVE, Calif. – An early morning fire that began around 3:20 a.m. burned down most of Claws Restaurant, located near Brookhurst St. and Chapman Blvd. Firefighters contained the blaze roughly three hours after it began but were still checking for hot spots.
Burned debris from within the restaurant lay strewn in the parking lot. (Photo: Thuy Phan/Nguoi Viet)
Claws Restaurant, located at 12125 Brookhurst St., was gutted and filled with smoke and soot. Yellow and red fire trucks filled the parking lot shared by several other small businesses after 75 firefighters were called to the scene from Garden Grove, Costa Mesa and Newport Beach fire departments, along with Anaheim Fire & Rescue.
Firefighters fought the blaze from atop the restaurant. (Photo: Thuy Phan/Nguoi Viet)
“Initially, we went in and checked to make sure no one was inside the building,” said Capt. Thanh Nguyen. “After we determined there wasn’t, we noticed the potential for roof collapse and had the firefighters evacuate and go into defense mode.”
Bystanders watched as firefighters worked to contain the blaze and city workers cleaned up the scene. Police closed Brookhurst Street between Chapman and Lampson avenues while firefighters battled the blaze.
Firefighters continued to pump water into the charred building from above and ground level, sending more gray smoke into the streets.
People involved with Claws Restaurant watched on as the firefighters battled the blaze but declined to comment.
“An investigation by Garden Grove fire investigators revealed the fire to have originated in the kitchen, and determined to be accidental,” Nguyen said.
Damage was estimated to be more than $1 million to the structure and more than $500,000 to the contents, Nguyen said.
