The old Wood Funeral Home at the corner of Sixth and Trudgeon was reduced to blackened lumber and ashes by the blaze.Fire crews were called to the scene shortly after midnight but the flames had already taken hold of the nearly 100 year old structure. A house attached to the building was also destroyed in the inferno.
For years, the building had stood as a wood frame funeral home then, in the 1970s it received a brick exterior and a wood shingle awning.
It had been known as the Wood Funeral home with the husband and wife owners, Everett and Muriel Wood operating the facility. Later it was sold to Jack Hayhurst and had become the Hayhurst-Wood Funeral Home.
At one point, new owners converted the building into a steak house. In recent years it ahd beent urned into apartments and storage facility.
Fire chief David Bullard said Wednesday morning it appeared as though lightning may be to blame for the destruction.
A thunderstorm had moved through the area about the time the fire erupted. Residents in the building were unaware that the flames were racing through the attic structure.
