Firefighters spent Monday morning battling a blaze that spread to two businesses on Stony Plain Road, and heavy smoke from the fire prompted a warning for area residents.

Crews were called to the business, on 154 Street and Stony Plain Road, just after 6 a.m. – they arrived a few minutes later.

The fire was upgraded to a second alarm. Moon Palace, a restaurant on the corner was destroyed, and the neighbouring business Anatolia Market was also affected. Smoke had spread to a third business in the building.

“Fire’s been stubborn, hard to get at and not safe for the guys underneath it,” District Fire Chief Scott Mead said at the scene. “We’re now fighting it from the outside, trying to keep it in this end of the building, the wind’s working in our favour.”

Mead said the fire was producing a lot of smoke, much of it coming from burning roof materials.

“Smoke like this is unpleasant at best, so hopefully people will stay out of the smoke if they can at all avoid it,” Mead said.

Nearby residents were asked to stay inside and close their windows to avoid the smoke. Edmonton Fire Rescue said crews were on scene testing air quality.

Later Monday, fire officials said the restaurant and market were both write-offs, and would have to be torn down to help firefighters get an upper hand on the blaze.

 

 

Officials shut down a section of Stony Plain Road, first between 154 Street and 155 Street, before it was extended between 149 Street and 155 Street. The section of Stony Plain Road was expected to remain closed into Monday evening.

With files from Nicole Weisberg