Whipped by storm winds, a fire destroyed a popular Nome restaurant

A fire Saturday evening reduced a popular restaurant on Nome’s Front Street to ash, city officials said.

Gusts from the major storm battering the Western Alaska coast stirred up the flames at the Bering Sea Bar and grill. The fire was reported around 7 p.m. and was contained by about 3 a.m., said Acting Nome City Manager Bryant Hammond.

“The winds really fanned the flames,” he said. “It looked like it would get under control and then it would pick back up again because there were 40-knot winds just supplying the fire with oxygen.”

Three people were treated for smoke inhalation, Hammond said.

The bar and grill “is a total loss,” he said, “but from initial reports, the (Nugget Inn), which was separated by about three feet, was undamaged. It was quick thinking on the part of the fire department to contain the fire to one building.”

Resident Jim Dory said he saw the fire crews knocking down the structure of the restaurant to keep the blaze from spreading to the adjacent hotel.

The cause of the fire hasn’t been determined, Hammond said.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that the Nome Nugget was next door to the fire. It was the Nugget Inn.